Everything in Between
by teresa
Summary: Going to college is the end of one chapter and the beginning of another. Not everything is as simple as it seems. Dreams can grow and change, and sometimes the thing we need most is something we never expected. AU COMPLETE! Prequel to Cause and Effect
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Everything in Between

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Chapter 1

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"Are you sure you have all your bags? Didn't you have another small bag? Where's your computer? Did you get all of your clothes? Because I would rather we get everything squared away now, rather than when you really need it." The blonde girl wrung her hands in concern, counting the bags on the floor and on the bed, trying to do an inventory of their contents. She had supervised packing, after all, so she felt confident she knew what was in each one. "Did you get all your toiletries, too? We should check that they didn't come open in the bag, you don't want shampoo all over your shirts."

"Lay off, seriously." A young man who was leaning lazily against the door frame of the dormitory rolled his eyes, scrubbing his hand through dark brown hair, clearly not wanting to get involved, but also clearly starting to get annoyed with her behavior toward the only other person in the room, a very pale young man with bright red hair and mint-green eyes. "He's not a freaking baby."

"Kankurou, honestly, the liquor store isn't going anywhere! And if you keep rushing me, I won't take you, so that'll be the end of it, won't it?" she snapped at him before turning back to the redhead, who seemed to be simply tuning all of this out, unpacking his things with a level of attention that showed he would not notice if she left. He was used to her fussing over him; he supposed that was the way it was supposed to be with the youngest child in a family. "Gaara, do you know if anything's missing? Because if it is, we can get it for you. And if there's anything else you need, I can take you to the store."

"He can take himself, he has his own car." Kankurou pointed out. "Seriously, Temari, you're acting like his mom." She shot a look at him that was so full of venom he felt guilty without even being sure what he had done wrong. It was one of her talents.

"Kankurou, that was a horrible thing to say." She shook her head at him in disapproval. "Don't talk about his mother."

"Damn, cause I forgot, he always starts crying when I do." Kankurou snorted. "Right Gaara, doesn't it make your heart ache to think of someone you've never met?" The redhead blinked at Kankurou and Temari as though trying to decide whether this question was rhetorical, and if it was, whether or not it had been meant as a joke. It was clear it would take a while for him to come to a decision, so he moved back to unpacking.

"Oh no, don't put them in like that!" Temari shot another look at Kankurou and rushed over to assist Gaara with his work. She pulled half the clothing out of the drawer he had been putting it in and began unrolling and refolding each piece. "They'll be so wrinkled, and some of these you should really hang up. Oh! Did you need some hangers? I brought extras."

"Temari." Gaara pointedly recovered his shirts from her possession. "You are living down the hall. If I have a problem, I will tell you."

"That means he's sick of you, so leave." Kankurou added on, and Temari glared at him again before turning to Gaara in a decidedly tearful fashion.

"Do you want me to stay until your roommate gets here?" Temari asked him, her arms twitching as though she wanted desperately to hug him, but knew that he would draw the line at that sort of contact. "So I can make sure he's…okay?"

"I am an adult." He told her in what he felt was his most patient tone, but she still looked as though she would start crying. He was not sure how he would react if she actually did cry. He had not seen her cry in the entire time that he had known her, since his uncle had died and he had been dropped off like a forgotten parcel at his father's doorstep at the age of nine. His mother had died when he was born, and her brother had been his guardian when he was a child. Temari seemed to feel that since Kankurou and her mother was still alive even though she had divorced their father and visited about once every five years, Gaara was in intense need of a mother. And now that their father was gone as well, she was more "attentive" than ever.

He had known that when Temari applied to the same colleges as him, she would try her best to follow him to school to "watch out for him." He was not sure still whether this was endearing or very aggravating. He had been under the understanding that college was the time to strike out for yourself and become your own person. He was not sure college would be such an experience for him if his siblings would be around every corner. Kankurou had been hen-pecked into transferring his community college credits into the same school as them, and Temari had told him that if he did not agree to this, she would cut off his share of the inheritance from their father's death almost two years ago. It was still a bitter sting to Kankurou that she had been made executor of his estate once she reached the proper age when Kankurou was the eldest, but Gaara couldn't help thinking his father had known them better than he had suspected from his nearly constant absence, and had been aware that Kankurou was not exactly the epitome of responsibility, while Temari had that trait in spades.

Gaara privately suspected the reason they were living in the same dormitory was also to be laid down at Temari's door. She would have probably wanted them all in one room, except the school did not allow co-ed rooms, even if it was a family situation, which Gaara felt a bit grateful for. He did hate the idea of living with someone who would be randomly selected to live with him, but he also hated the idea of sharing a room with his constantly bickering siblings. He was able to maintain patience with their behavior because he gave himself private time away from them every day, but in a large estate, it was easy to find a place where no one would find him for an hour or so. It would take time before he found secret niches on this campus, but this would be a priority if he disliked his roommate. He disliked most people, so this seemed a forgone conclusion. For some reason, Temari had a single. He wondered if he could play on her sympathies and get her to give him her room, but he doubted it.

"Just…just call me, or come by my room if anything happens. I'm in 312, remember?" Temari reached out as though she wanted to touch him, but she stopped herself, conscious of his wariness with physical contact and with Kankurou's boiling impatience. "Don't just suffer alone, okay?"

"Oh my god, this is ridiculous." Kankurou grumbled, and Gaara saw that there was only one way he would be able to satisfy her. He nodded at her and forced a smile, and she looked as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. He hated having to do that, but he had learned that she thought a smile meant that everything was okay, and it would get her to just leave him alone, so it was worth the sacrifice.

"Do you need anything from the store?" she asked, as she turned to join Kankurou, who looked so grateful to finally have her attention back where he wanted it that he might hug Gaara. Although he knew better, so probably not.

"I'm fine." He assured her, and she nodded firmly, gathering herself into her usual bossy and unflappable demeanor before leading Kankurou away for his "important errands."

When he had first moved in with his father and siblings, Temari had been a bit afraid of him, possibly because he was nearly expelled from their school within his first week of transferring in for putting a classmate in the hospital. Gaara had been teased for being small and pale and quiet since he first went to school, and he had swiftly learned how to end the teasing. After that incident, no one at his new school teased him about anything, much less talked to him, for fear of causing him ire. After a while, Temari had learned more about him, and had decided that Gaara was misunderstood and needed her to coddle him. He sometimes thought he would be happier if she was afraid of him, but in his heart, he knew that he did care for his sister. She saw him in a light that very few people ever had, and she was honest with him. The same was true of Kankurou, despite the fact that his siblings had vastly different relationships with him.

Gaara unpacked everything, but he saved the bed for last. He thought it vaguely twisted that Temari had insisted on him having bedding when she knew for a fact that he rarely slept, if ever. Although, he supposed it did make the bed a more comfortable place to sit, but he had a chair for that sort of thing. Beds were a furniture he didn't trust, as they were dedicated to making people sleep. Being open on all sides, they appeared an easy place to escape, but he knew that wasn't the case. Yes, he preferred chairs, or even couches. He wondered if he could find a couch and just throw this bed away. He didn't often ask to access his inheritance, so he doubted Temari would refuse him. She knew he hated beds. Perhaps he could smash the frame of this one with a hammer. The idea was appealing, certainly.

As he sat speculating at his desk, the door opened, and without any sort of verbal greeting, another young man who he had never seen before entered the room. His manner made it clear that he felt he belonged here, and Gaara was immediately on his guard. This must be the roommate. He had long black hair pulled back from his face, and very oddly colored silver eyes. Gaara had never seen eyes like that before on anyone, and he almost thought this person was blind, but if so, he was one of the best guessers ever, because he proceeded to the empty bed and dropped his belongings before leaving, clearly to get more things. He did all of this without once acknowledging Gaara's presence and the redhead felt wary. He located the cell phone that he never really used and wondered if he should call Temari. The more he thought about sharing his personal space with a stranger, the worse this idea seemed. He assumed she had pulled strings to acquire her own single room, and he was annoyed she had not done him the same courtesy. He knew that she would not agree to this, however. Temari seemed to dote on him to an extent in private, but there were things she felt Gaara needed, and she stubbornly insisted on making sure he got those things. One of them was friends. This was clearly a plot to make him know people, which was seriously irritating.

"Is this it right here?" The roommate had returned with a girl in tow, although he acted as enthusiastic for her company as he had for Gaara's. The girl had the same odd eyes as him, and Gaara felt she must be his sister. He knew the look on the other man's face too well, the look that said he was annoyed with people caring about him and would rather they all just go away and leave him alone. "This is great, Neji, it's right around the corner from me! Oh, after we get you settled, you should come by for tea. I asked my roommate and she is very excited to have the electric kettle in the room, so she won't mind. She is very nice. Is this your roommate?" Her tone was much gentler than that of Temari, and Gaara speculated that she was a younger sister, not as used to getting her way as his own.

"I suppose." The young man looked over at him for the first time, and they seized each other up for some time. The girl was not the sort for treating strangers with caution however, and she smiled, rushing forward to offer her hand to Gaara.

"Hello, my name is Hinata Hyuuga, and I am pleased to meet you. Have you two met already?" she asked, prompting Neji to shrug noncommittally. "Oh no, I seem to have interrupted your first meeting. I apologize." She smiled sweetly, and Gaara found her innocent demeanor suspicious at once. He didn't trust people who were friendly. They clearly wanted something. He eyed her extended hand with caution and wondered if he should shake it. Before he could decide, she withdrew, clasping her hands to her chest. "What is your name?" she prompted. Gaara considered her for some time, and then glanced at his roommate, who managed to make a very similar set of features look much different. He was glaring at Gaara, and somehow this was much more reassuring than this girl smiling at him and trying to make friends.

"Gaara." He answered grudgingly, darting a glance back at the girl before returning his attention to Neji, who seemed to be considering whether he was an enemy or not. Gaara was positive that if this smiling girl attacked him, he could take her down, but Neji was about four inches taller than him and looked physically fit, so it was hard to say if he could present a challenge or not. Gaara did not necessarily liked getting into fights, but he did like to know that if anyone in the room attacked him, he would be able to win. Temari didn't understand this attitude, and she often despaired of him being so hostile toward everyone that he never seemed to make friends, but Temari had lived a much different life than him, so she couldn't hope to understand.

"Neji, introduce yourself!" Hinata nudged the taller man and he seemed to go through a brief internal struggle before stepping forward and offering his hand, which Gaara took, using his grip to judge the strength of this person.

"Neji Hyuuga." The silver-eyed man managed not to glare at Gaara, but he still looked extremely wary of him.

"Would you like to come have tea with us, Gaara-san?" Hinata asked, looking very pleased, as though this had been an extremely successful social exchange for all involved. Gaara frowned, glancing from Hinata's bright smile to Neji's look of resignation. This could be acceptable.

"Tea is fine." He nodded, thinking suddenly of how later, Temari would probably go into paroxysms of joy knowing that he had spent time with people. He quelled the nervous fluttering in his chest as he thought of how this girl might want him to talk, and how he would have to wait to be alone. College was about changing. Perhaps here he could learn to be around people without wanting to hit them. That seemed a suitable course of study.

--

"Yes, mom." A girl with pink hair spoke into her cell phone while lying sprawled across her bed, tired after so much time spent unpacking. "Yes, I have it with me. Yes, of course I didn't. No, I'll remember. Mother, please, I think I know how to…well yes, of course." Her tone sounded resigned as she rolled her green eyes and twisted a lock of her recently shorn hair between two fingers. "I know that. Yes, I will. Mom, I can't call you every three hours, seriously. No, I do. Love you too. Yes, later."

With a deep sigh, she flipped her phone closed and tossed it carelessly toward her purse, coming very close to actually making her goal. Sakura understood that her mother was concerned about all the changes that going to college would mean, and wanted to protect her, but she needed to learn to just cut the apron strings. At least she hadn't spent the night, like she had clearly wanted to. Sakura loved her parents, but she felt that it was important that she get into the world and see it for herself, and she wished they could just trust her not to be an idiot about it.

"Hello?" Sakura glanced over at the door when she heard a gentle knocking and couldn't stop herself from giggling slightly when her roommate poked her head in hopefully. "Hinata, it's your room too, you don't have to knock all the time."

"Yes, but what if you had been changing or sleeping?" Hinata opened the door a bit wider and Sakura noticed there were a pair of guys standing behind her, both looking about their age. "I have guests if you feel up to company. I thought we could all have a cup of tea, which can be quite relaxing."

"I'm tired, I'm not infected with plague." Sakura shook her head and stood up, trying to get a closer look at these young men. Maybe she was just delusional with exhaustion, but they both looked extremely attractive. Sakura was impressed. Hinata had left the room maybe thirty minutes ago and she'd picked up two of the hottest guys Sakura had ever laid eyes on. She wouldn't really have pegged the sweet, shy girl as that sort, but clearly she was full of surprises. "Tea sounds great. Who are your friends?" she smiled brightly and smoothed her hair, trying to remind herself that with all the homework she would soon be doing a boyfriend would be very taxing.

"Oh! How rude of me!" Hinata flushed and ushered both men in, gesturing first to the taller one with eyes like hers and long, silky black hair. "This is my cousin, Neji Hyuuga, and this is his roommate, Gaara…" she looked expectantly at the redhead who blinked at her like he wasn't sure what she wanted. "This is my roommate Sakura Haruno. I hope we can all get along!"

"Oh, your cousin?" Sakura extended her hand, which Neji shook in a stiff, formal manner. Gaara also shook her hand after looking at it as though concerned it was a small, vicious predator in disguise. Sakura was too busy wondering how many other gorgeous guys went to this school to really notice. "And his roommate…so nice. And you guys go here too?"

"They live just around the corner!" Hinata beamed in pleasure before gesturing for everyone to sit and sweeping over to plug in her kettle. "I am glad, as Neji and I have been close for some time. He is like a brother to me, and we have known each other since we were quite small. He has always been very good to me. You are very lucky to have such an honorable man as your roommate, Gaara-san. Neji can seem reserved at times, but he is such a loyal friend, you will be happy to have met such a person."

"Hinata, please stop." Neji looked uncomfortable at all this praise, "I do not deserve such praise."

"I'm sure if she says you're a good man that you are." Sakura neatly joined the conversation, feeling a pleasant warmth in her chest as Neji looked at her. Honestly, he was so completely beyond the boys she had known in high school, he made her feel a foolish girl just looking at him. They both did! "Do you have lots of friends back home? A girlfriend, maybe?"

"I don't make friends." Gaara answered, so far the most words anyone in the room had heard him string together in one instance. Everyone was looking at him, and he remembered that he hated being around people. "I don't." He repeated and stared at the carpet.

"We'll be your friends, Gaara-san." Hinata assured him, preparing the cups and taking out a package of shortcakes, moving a box full of books and clothes over for them to use as a makeshift table. "It's okay if you didn't have a good time in high school. Neji was popular, but he did not like to make friends, either."

"Hinata, stop." Neji heaved a sigh. "I'd rather not talk about it."

"So neither of you have girlfriends?" Sakura could see that these boys were both a bit less social than what might be ideal, but they were also very cool and mysterious, so she was willing to overlook that.

"I'm gay." Neji answered her bluntly. "Now stop staring at me, because it isn't going to happen."

"I—I wasn't…" Sakura flushed red, feeling an utter imbecile. She was never very good at talking to boys, and it seemed that she had fouled up again. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"Neji, do not be mean." Hinata chided him with a stern look, and he shrugged slightly. "I must apologize for Neji, he does not mean to be cruel when he says things like that, but I think he becomes nervous and cannot help it."

"She was the one looking at Gaara and me like she was starving." Neji grumbled, and Gaara blinked in surprise, realizing what he was saying and looking at Sakura in surprise. She was interested in him? He had never really given dating a second thought, since everyone was too scared of him. Interesting. Perhaps if he didn't send anyone to the hospital, he could learn what normal socialization was like. Temari would be very excited.

"Tea's ready!" Hinata clapped her hands, changing the subject. She handed the tea out and sat down just as there was a knock on the door. She leapt up once more to answer it.

"Hello! My name's Ino, I live across the hall there." A blonde girl stood in the doorway and greeted the room at large, shaking hands with Hinata. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I was wondering if you have a vacuum, or you know where one is? I was unpacking and I knocked over my roommate's houseplant, and there's dirt everywhere, and I just…" she trailed off, no longer really looking at Hinata, and instead trying to get a better look at the two men drinking tea with Sakura deeper in the room.

"Ino!" A girl with dark haired pulled into buns ran up holding a dust buster. "Some guy down the hall had this, don't worry about it!"

"Oh…yeah, that's really good." Ino nodded vaguely at her roommate, peering into the room again. "So…what did you say your name was?"

"I am Hinata Hyuuga, and I am very pleased to meet you, Ino-san, as well as your roommate…" she tilted her head to one side and extended a hand to the girl in buns, who rubbed it off on her pants as though it was dirty.

"Aha, sorry, I was trying to just pick up and I'm a little messy!" she smiled nervously. "My name's Tenten." She took Hinata's hand, shaking it briskly. "Are you having a tea party for real?"

"It isn't really a party, I wouldn't say…" Hinata demurred and Ino angled her body slightly, sliding into the room easily.

"I haven't met any of you, either." She wished she didn't have her hair pulled back today. She would have to remember to wear it down if this was any example of the type of guys she would be living with. "Ino Yamanaka. I live just across the hall." She winked broadly. "I'm assuming you aren't _all_ living with Hinata-san in here."

"It's very rude to barge into rooms uninvited." Neji advised her, annoyed that yet another girl had turned up to ogle him. It was unfair that he was forced to choose between looking bad or having to deal with all these women. "You should apologize to Hinata."

"N—no, it's okay." Hinata smiled shakily, regaining herself slightly. "It is good for us all to get to know one another. Tenten-san, would you also like to join us?"

"Maybe in a bit, I have to clean up a dirt explosion still." She shrugged sheepishly as if the mess had been her own.

"Do you mind if I help you? I would like to see other rooms as well." Hinata followed her, leaving the door open and Neji felt a frown take hold of his face. He wished that he could be as cruel to her as he could to most people, but he found it quite impossible, and then he always ended up in situations like this because of his stupid weakness for her.

"Looks like I'm invited now!" Ino smiled and sat in the chair recently occupied by Hinata. "So where do you guys live?"

"They live down the hall." Sakura cut in, annoyed with the temerity of this girl, although privately hoping Neji would redirect his ire at her. She still felt incredibly embarrassed at what had just happened.

"Who are you?" Ino asked, as though Sakura had no business in her own room.

"I'm Sakura Haruno, and this is my room as well." She told Ino sharply. "You should get out of Hinata's seat so she has somewhere to sit when she gets back."

"Hey!" two young men that none of them had ever seen before barged into the room suddenly, apparently taking the open door as an invitation. "Hey, are you guys going to the party tonight?"

"Party?" Sakura frowned in slight disapproval. "School hasn't even started yet."

"Exactly, so we have tons of time to sleep it off!" exclaimed a blonde young man with bright blue eyes. "It's college, you have to party, right Kiba?"

"Right! We're gonna go get a bunch of booze. Are any of you old enough to buy alcohol?" Kiba, the other young man, was a brunette, but Sakura thought they were both a bit plain looking compared to the two men sitting with her.

"We're freshmen." Neji answered in a cold tone, and it was clear he was not interested in any sort of party.

"Don't worry about it, Naruto, we'll find someone." Kiba patted the blonde's shoulder.

"Come on, you should all come to the party, it'll be awesome." Naruto bounced onto Sakura's bed next to her, and she looked at him as though he could be carrying a deadly disease. "Our first night! We should celebrate!"

"That sounds cool." Ino considered aloud, turning to Gaara and Neji. "You guys should come. I bet they'll have something much better than tea there. What room is it in?"

"307, right out there, two doors down." Kiba gave her a double thumbs up. "Come on, Naruto, we gotta invite more people!"

"Kay! Seeya later!" he jumped up and then stopped himself at the door. "I forgot, my name's Naruto Uzumaki. What's yours?"

"I'm Ino, and this is Sakura." Ino answered, and Sakura scowled at her. She didn't want to go to any parties, and she wasn't interested in goof-offs like that Naruto guy. She wanted someone serious if she was going to date.

"Sakura, huh?" he grinned at her and nodded. "What about you guys?" he asked, and Sakura was surprised when Neji answered without venom.

"My name is Neji, and this is Gaara." The dark-haired man answered.

"Awesome! Hope to see you guys at the party!" he gave a swift wave and disappeared down the hall."

"Great, a party two doors down. I guess I won't be getting any sleep tonight." Sakura sighed heavily.

"I have never been to a party." Gaara spoke up suddenly, and Ino looked at his as though he'd grown an extra head.

"What, were you home-schooled?" she asked.

"I don't like people." He answered, and she wilted slightly.

"I have to go unpack." Neji stood up suddenly, not willing to sit here making small talk with these girls anymore. "Gaara, come on." To his own surprise, Gaara stood and followed the other young man back to their room, secretly relieved to be done with his brief visit, but still shocked that he had simply obeyed Neji without question. Once they were back in their room, Neji gave him a considering look before speaking. "You really don't like people, do you?"

"No, not really." Gaara answered.

"I think this could work out." Neji nodded and went back to unpacking. Gaara wasn't sure what that meant, but he supposed it meant that they wouldn't have to see who would win in a fight yet.

--

"Come on, it'll be fun!" A chubby young man with reddish brown hair was invading Sasuke's room. He did not approve. "Hey, are you Shikamaru's roommate?" he asked when he noticed the dark haired young man standing in the doorway with an annoyed look on his face.

"No, I just like spending time with people I've never met." Sasuke retorted, staring down his nose at the cheerful looking young man. That was the sort of person who wanted to make noise when Sasuke was studying, he was almost sure. Shikamaru, his roommate, had seemed a reasonably good deal. He was studious, quiet, and slept a lot. Sasuke found these arrangements agreeable, but he did not find Shikamaru's friends visiting his room to be agreeable at all. "Of course it's my room." He snorted.

"Sasuke, this is Chouji, we went to school together." Shikamaru stretched and yawned as though he had just been napping.

"Great. What's he doing in our room?" Sasuke asked, with the air of someone who was used to everything being done in the way he demanded it.

"He's in a triple down the hall, and his roommates want to have a party tonight for the beginning of the year, kind of thing." Shikamaru shrugged, slumping slightly and tucking one leg under him where he sat on the bed.

"You should both come!" Chouji exclaimed pulling a bag of chips out of his jacket pocket and beginning to crunch down a few of the snacks.

"I hate parties almost as much as I hate people eating in my room." Sasuke answered with a sour face. "Out!"

"Sorry bout that! Seeya later Shikamaru!" Chouji did not seem fazed by Sasuke's lack of enthusiasm, and he waved before leaving the room, happily snacking on the bag of chips. He liked to keep at least a couple bags on his person. You never knew when you would really need a snack. "Whoa!" he stopped himself short as he almost ran straight into a young man wearing a coat and sunglasses, which was a rather odd combination. It wasn't necessarily very bright inside, nor was it very cold.

"It is good you did not run into me." The young man hefted the cage he was carrying, and Chouji saw that there seemed to be a pair of scorpions inside of it. "They are extremely susceptible to stress, and I am hoping to mate the pair."

"Um…" Chouji wasn't sure what to say to that, though he had to admit the prospect of baby scorpions was not one he relished. "That's…nice. Hey, wanna come to a party tonight? Just you, not the bugs."

"They're arachnids." The boy answered, and Chouji was thrown off balance again, just as another young man popped out of the room across from Shikamaru's door, looking extremely excited.

"Did I hear someone say party?" the young man was wearing a green track suit, and he had black hair in a bowl cut with extremely bushy eyebrows. "I am always ready to join into an impassioned celebration of youthful joy!"

"Hey," Chouji waved, brushing chip crumbs off his hand. "My name's Chouji. My roommates and I are throwing the party down in 307, just down the hall. You should come!"

"I will make a point of it!" The strange boy punched the air. "My name is Lee, and this is my roommate, the quiet and mysterious Shino. I will be sure he comes as well, so that he can see there is more beauty in the world than that of his insect collection."

"They aren't _all_ insects." Shino grumbled and pushed past him into the room. Chouji shrugged and moved on, determined to help his roommates make their party a success.

--

To be continued…


	2. Chapter 2

Everything in Between

Everything in Between

Chapter 2

--

"Hey, you my roommate?" Kankurou asked the pale boy sitting in his room as he edged into the door, hefting several bags full of the supplies he had procured at the store. "Wanna help me here?"

"Certainly," the pale man moved to take a pair of bags and helped Kankurou set them down inside the room. Of course, Temari had not offered to help get his supplies upstairs at all, but at least she had driven him. It would have been a pain lugging all this alcohol all the way back from the store, rather than just from the parking lot.

"Thanks, man." Kankurou wiped his brow and stuck out a hand, which his roommate looked at in slight confusion. "Name's Kankurou Sabaku."

"You speak poorly." The pale man offered. "Is this a formal introduction?" he asked, still confused about the hand.

"That's for shaking!" Kankurou laughed despite himself and scrubbed the offered hand through his hair. "Haven't you ever met a human before where you're from?"

"I knew what it was for, and I am from a house that had three humans in it. Now that I am here, it has only two." The man told Kankurou, who still couldn't decide if this was a joke or not.

"What's your name?" he asked, deciding to just do his best with the situation. He wondered what Gaara's roommate was like, and if he wanted to switch. His brother's social intelligence was actually greater than this guy's, which had never been the case in Kankurou's experience before.

"My name is Sai. I would prefer for you to use just my first name with no suffix. That way, we can quickly become friends." Sai told him, still completely serious.

"Um…" Kankurou shook his head and began pulling bottles out and lining them up on his dresser so that he wouldn't have to stare at his roommate in bewilderment. "That's fine, I guess. Were you like, home-schooled or something?"

"How did you know this? Did you hack into the college computer system and research my file before you came?" Sai frowned slightly, and Kankurou paused to chuckle before pulling out more bottles.

"It's a little obvious you've lived a sheltered life, Sai." Kankurou told him. "Don't worry, now you're here with me, and I'll teach you everything you need to know. Pretty soon, your parents won't even recognize you!"

"Do you mean my foster parents? My birth parents are dead, and I do not think I would recognize them, much less the other way around." Sai asked, and Kankurou set out the last of the bottles, sighing heavily.

"They should have taught you how to sound less crazy." He muttered, and Sai scowled at him before he shook his head and held up his hands defensively. "First lesson, Sai. Always make sure you say things people want to hear! It's kind of a downer when you tell me your parents are dead after we just met."

"I did not want to deceive you. Trust is essential to friendship, I have read all about the subject in preparation for this." Sai told him, but he did seem to consider Kankurou's advice, sitting on his bed and rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"Well, it's just lots of people have crappy things going on in their lives, but you don't just bring those up in the first five minutes of knowing someone. First impressions can totally change whether or not you're _ever_ friends with someone. I can tell you're new to this, so I'll go easy on you, but seriously, you have to learn how to talk to people."

"At my home, I say whatever I am thinking, and my foster parents encourage this." Sai explained. "That is how I learn."

"Yeah, well now you're gonna learn sometimes to edit." Kankurou explained. "We should—"

"Hey!" a pair of young men burst in after a single knock. "Sorry to interrupt, but we're spreading the word. In 307 we're gonna have a party tonight and—" the speaker stopped, his dark eyes widening as he grabbed his blonde companion's arm in shock. "Where did you get all that booze?!"

"Bought it." Kankurou grinned. Yes, he would like it here. College was awesome, clearly.

"Kankurou, are you an alcoholic?" Sai asked, contemplating all the alcohol. "I have heard there are those who need—"

"Oh man, you _have_ to come! You bought that yourself? So you're old enough?" the first young man's eyes were nearly the size of dinner plates at this point. "Dude…yes."

"I take it you were looking for supplies?" Kankurou tilted his head to one side. "Yeah, I can hook you up. I got all this in case there were some parties, anyway, so we can use some of it."

"Do you want some money?" the blonde asked, digging out his wallet. "Cause that is a lot of booze."

"Excuse me, but when you say booze—" Sai was cut off by an impatient gesture from Kankurou.

"They mean this." He indicated the alcohol. Sai dug in one of his bags before pulling out a notebook and scribbling something down. "Sorry, my roommate was sheltered."

"I guess." The brunette chuckled. "I'm Kiba, and this is Naruto."

"I'm Kankurou, this is Sai." Kankurou told them, and this time Sai took part in the hand shakes, though he was still rather sure that was more for formal introductions.

"Awesome, let's start moving stuff." Kiba, Naruto, and Kankurou selected some bottles and started down the hall before Kankurou felt a yank on his shoulder.

"And what are _you_ doing?" Temari's voice was unmistakable, and Kankurou's shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Having fun. Living my life. You should look into it." He told her. She turned on Kiba and Naruto, who had also stopped to see what was going on with this sudden interruption to their preparations.

"Are you two minors?" she asked, seeming somehow as though she _wasn't_ a minor herself. They smiled at her slightly, not sure what to make of this bossy blonde, and she clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Are you aware, Kankurou, that it is _illegal_ to supply minors with alcohol?"

"Lots of fun stuff is illegal." Kankurou retorted. "If you weren't such a ball-buster, you could do them, too."

"You want to come to our party?" Kiba asked, smiling at her and making sure to put every ounce of charisma into the invitation. "It would be great if you did." He sensed trouble, and he was hoping to put an end to it right away.

"Well," Temari had not been invited to a party like this in…as long as she could remember. She was always a strict follower of the rules, and her classmates had known that, and did not bother to try and include her in questionable situations, such as anything involving underage drinking. "I guess…if I went, I could make sure no one drank too much or became too rowdy…"

"Yeah!" Kankurou was vaguely amazed that this tactic was working, but he would do anything to keep Temari from getting this party shut down before it even started. "Oh, and you could make Gaara come so he could meet people! You like that kinda stuff, right?"

"I'm Kiba, and this is one of my roommates, Naruto." Kiba beamed at her again, and she gave him a slight smile in return. "You should come! It would be great."

"How do you and Kankurou know each other?" Naruto asked.

"Eh, Temari's my sister." Kankurou made a pained face and was rewarded with a smack on the back of the head. "Ow!"

"Don't sound so disappointed!" she hissed at him. "I think I might come by. Our other brother Gaara might come as well."

"Wait…the red haired guy who looks really grumpy?" Kiba asked, and Temari looked vaguely surprised. Had there been trouble while she was away? Was Gaara okay? Had he gotten into any fights?

"What happened?" she asked, unable to keep the worry out of her tone.

"Oh, nothing, we met him earlier, is all." Kiba was a bit surprised at her reaction. "He was down with those girls, having tea. Right, Naruto?"

"Yeah, with Sakura." Naruto nodded firmly. "We met him and his roommate."

"His roommate's here?" she rushed off, looking like she'd just remembered she'd left the oven on.

"She's a little…overprotective." Kankurou explained to the confused pair watching her race down the hall.

--

"Gaara!" Temari burst into the room she'd left her brother in without preamble and froze in slight surprise at what she saw. Gaara was sitting on his bed, his laptop resting on his crossed legs, looking perfectly content, and as if he did not at all mind the company of the other person in the room, a very pretty young man with dark hair and silver eyes, who was reading on his own bed. It was clear they had been like this for some time, as they both jumped slightly at her sudden entrance.

"What?" he asked her, his tone both annoyed and she thought vaguely concerned.

"I just…wanted to check on things." She flushed, feeling foolish for assuming Gaara and his roommate would be engaged in a fight already. "So, are you Gaara's roommate?" she approached the other young man, who looked purely annoyed to see her. "I'm his older sister, Temari. I live down the hall."

"I am reading." He told her. "If you want to stay in here, you need to be quiet. Otherwise, go back to your room."

"I'm just trying to make sure I can trust you with my brother." She hissed, not really appreciating his attitude. He blinked at her, clearly not expecting any sort of retort from her. Neji was used to his looks flustering girls so that any sharp words from him caused them to immediately wilt and retreat. What was with this girl? "You're clearly kind of an asshole, so right now you aren't scoring too high."

"I do not need your approval." Neji lifted his chin and narrowed his eyes, and snorted, rolling her eyes right back at him.

"Neji is fine." Gaara spoke up, and Temari turned to him in surprise. "I will live with him."

"You…you want to live with him?" she asked, and his dark-rimmed eyes moved to consider Neji before returning to her.

"I do not mind him." He finally answered, and she threw up her hands in defeat, completely dumbfounded. She whirled on Neji and glared.

"Neji, huh?" she pointed at him. "You be careful. I've got my eye on you." And with that, she stalked out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

"So that was your sister?" Neji asked Gaara, who nodded. Both of them returned to what they had been doing as though nothing at all had happened to interrupt them.

--

"Great turnout!" Kiba high-fived Chouji and Naruto. Kiba had known that college would be a blast, and he was encouraged by his very first college party. He had been worried that his roommates would be stiff-necked or boring, but when he met Naruto and Chouji, he knew that they would have a great time living together. Chouji seemed more interested in how much food they had then in how many people had shown up, but Naruto was ecstatic. Kiba could tell they would get along great since they both loved this sort of thing.

"Oh look! Sakura showed up!" Naruto darted away, clearly ready for his first college girlfriend, and Kiba chuckled slightly. There were a lot of good looking girls here, and he wasn't sure he wanted to settle on one right away. A lot of times a good looking girl could end up having a pretty horrible personality, and he didn't want to get stuck in something he'd regret. That Temari girl had been interesting, though.

As if by some strange luck, he spotted her at his doorway, but she seemed to be hesitating to actually come in for some reason. Then he spotted the reason. She had her younger brother with her, looking as surly as he had the last time Kiba had seen him, and it was clear without even hearing the conversation that she was trying to cajole him into socializing, and he was putting up heavy resistance. This could be his chance!

"No." Gaara stopped at the doorway, and Temari turned at him, blinking in confusion. "Too many people." He turned to go back to his room, and Temari grabbed his arm, holding him still. He was pretty sure he could break her grip, but he would have to hurt her, and he didn't want to do that unless he absolutely had to.

"Come on, Gaara, it isn't that bad!" she smiled, trying to soften him up, though in her experience, Gaara did not soften. Ever. "Look, you met those boys earlier, so you know them already. It isn't that many new people. I heard you already met some girls, too."

"Yes." He admitted grudgingly, and then came up with a sudden plan. "I did that, so now I should not have to do this."

"No way, nice try." She told him. "Look, there's Kankurou over there. Why don't we just go spend time over by him? I won't make you talk to people, just let them be around you."

"I don't want to." Gaara told her stubbornly, "I do not like this."

"Yeah, me either," a young man with longish dark hair leaned against the wall next to them, peering into the party. "Always people acting like idiots at these things, wanting you to act like an idiot with them. It's troublesome. But I'm not going because I want to."

"Why, then?" Gaara asked despite himself, and Temari looked expectantly at the young man, so he shrugged.

"I have a friend who thinks stuff like this is important." He admitted. "He wants me to be here, and it means a lot to him, so even though it's a pain, I'll do it since he's my best friend. Usually half the people at things like this would rather be at home. They're there for the other half's sake."

"Oh." Gaara considered this, looking at Temari as though weighing something in his mind before nodding slightly. "All right then." Temari couldn't believe it. Gaara was walking into the party all by himself, because of the words of this person. She wasn't sure if she was impressed or jealous or grateful, or a little of each. She turned to thank him, but he had also disappeared into the party.

"Hey, you came!" Kiba caught up to her before she could chase after the stranger or her brother. "Where's your brother…oh, there he goes!" he pointed as Gaara dutifully stationed himself next to Kankurou, who seemed to be teaching a drinking game to several other freshmen, and when Gaara joined them, he clapped him on the back in excitement and immediately handed him a drink and continued his explanation. "Awesome! How'd you get him to come out?"

"He almost didn't, but this guy…sorry, do you mind?" she waved him away and rushed after Gaara to make sure Kankurou didn't lead him too far astray. Kiba frowned, but then he shrugged and smiled. The night was young, and so was he! She wasn't the only girl here, after all. He saw Chouji flagging him down and moved back over to see what was going on in that direction.

"Hey, Kiba! This is my best friend, Shikamaru." Chouji introduced him to a tired looking youth with dark hair pulled back from his face. "We've been in school together since we were kids."

"Awesome!" Kiba greeted Shikamaru. "I'm one of Chouji's roommates. The other one's that guy making a fool of himself over there." He pointed across the room, where Naruto was attempting to talk to Sakura and even though he couldn't hear, it was clear that he was getting rebuffed over and over again.

"Yeah, his name's Naruto." Chouji explained. "He brought like a hundred packs of ramen with him. It was amazing."

"Really?" Shikamaru seemed vaguely interested. "Where is it?"

"All in his bottom drawer." Chouji explained, and Shikamaru looked around the room, noticing that he could only see one dresser. The beds and desks had been pushed up against the wall to make room for the guests.

"You guys only get one dresser?" Shikamaru asked.

"No, the other ones are in the closet. It's giant, since this is a triple." Kiba explained. "This way there's more room for people to hang out!"

"Hey!" they were interrupted by the sudden appearance of Temari, who was pointing at Shikamaru. "You! What's your name?"

"Shikamaru," he told her easily. "Why?"

"You got my brother to come in here earlier." She smiled, and her face seemed suddenly much less severe. "Thanks a lot, I'm constantly trying to get him to meet people."

"You could just leave him alone. He clearly doesn't like it." Shikamaru replied, and she scowled at him in shock at his rebuttal.

"I was trying to be nice!" she snapped at him before stomping off again.

"Oh man, you blew it." Kiba chuckled. "She's pretty cute."

"I don't want a girlfriend." Shikamaru told him. "They're too much trouble."

"What, are you gay?" Kiba asked, and Chouji interrupted, laughing as well.

"No, just lazy." The chubby man explained, Shikamaru shrugged and leaned back on the bed he was sitting on, looking as though he might actually fall asleep. "Hey, wanna play chess?" Chouji asked, and he perked up slightly. Kiba pulled a disgusted face as Chouji ran to get the chess set and Shikamaru sat up more properly in anticipation.

"Who plays chess at a party?" he asked.

"Are we playing chess? I would enjoy that; I am quite good, I must warn you." Sai had drifted away from where Kankurou was running a drinking game, thinking of his parents warning him of the evils of excess, but this was something he could do without getting in any trouble.

"You can play the winner," Shikamaru nodded, and Sai joined them, looking rather pleased. Kiba decided he had clearly ended up on the lame side of the party and made a bee-line for Kankurou's drinking game.

"Four!" Kankurou called out, showing a card to everyone. There was groaning and laughing and for some reason Sakura was forced to take three drinks. Everyone turned to Kankurou as he flipped over the next card. "It's a queen!" This time there was quite a bit of fuss, as it seemed Ino, Lee, and Gaara had to drink.

"Just take sips, Gaara. You don't want to get sick." Temari was hovering over her younger brother's shoulder protectively, and Kankurou seemed sick of this.

"Temari, you need to play or leave him alone! He's a grown up now." He told his sister in aggravation.

"Oh, because you'll take responsibility when he dies of alcohol poisoning?" she asked him viciously. "I'm here to make sure things don't get out of hand."

"Man, it's like taking your mom to a party." Kiba teased, and she glared at him, huffing and rushing over to where the boys were playing chess, leaving Gaara to his drinking.

"You're back?" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at her as she sat on the bed with such force she made the pieces slide about on the board. "Sai's playing the winner, or you could play him after this."

"Fine." She answered, crossing her arms in annoyance. She didn't understand why no one appreciated her need to protect her brother. It was clearly too late for Kankurou, but Gaara was such a good boy, deep down inside, she knew. Kankurou was trying to make him into a slacker who just went to parties and had fun all the time instead of going to class or studying. Gaara was a very good student, despite his sometimes violent tendencies. She knew he either didn't sleep at all or slept very little, so he likely did all his homework when he was up all night long, thinking about whatever things someone like that thought about. All these years, and she still felt she didn't know him as well as she wanted to. After all, she had been sure she would have to petition for him to get a single, since she couldn't imagine he'd be happy with another person, but he seemed perfectly fine with Neji. And she had seen it herself. He hadn't been agitated at all! It was unbelievable.

"Hey," a person she had not yet met approached them, clearly talking to Shikamaru. "I can't find my vacuum. Have you seen it?"

"Don't think so." Shikamaru shrugged. "Wanna play chess?" he offered. The dark-haired young man looked around the room in clear disapproval. He glared at the drinking game before hesitating. "I mean, didn't you say you were good, Sasuke?"

"I am good." He defended, and sat down as though he had been forced.

"Okay, next round is Temari and Sai, then winners play, then that winner plays you." Shikamaru yawned as though he was always planning chess tournaments in the middle of college parties. "Checkmate."

"Five minutes, it's a new record!" Chouji threw up his arms as though he had won something, and Shikamaru chuckled as they passed the board along. Temari had the distinct feeling they were expecting her to lose. She would show them.

--

Neji stood outside the doorway, looking inside, trying to decide what he was doing. If Hinata spotted him from where she was inside, she would insist on him coming in and "having fun." He just wanted to be sure that everything was okay. It had been clear from the way Temari talked while forcing Gaara to come along with her that he had never been to a party before. Neji had. He hated them, but he also knew bad things could happen to people who didn't know what to expect.

_I don't really care, I just don't want him puking all over the room._

He watched from a distance as Gaara played some drinking game with a load of other people. On the other side of the room, Neji could see Temari playing chess with a very pale young man, while three other boys watched. If he was inside, he wouldn't feel comfortable at either location.

_This is where I belong, on the outside, looking in. I don't need these people to be happy. I just need to concentrate on my studies._

"Neji!" Hinata had spotted him, and Neji realized with a sinking feeling that he would be attending a party whether he wanted to or not. She dragged him in, and he stood next to her, not understanding whatever game they were playing, but enjoying how Gaara looked very serious, as though it were some sort of competition. After Hinata explained the rules without him paying any attention, he went to stand near Gaara and see what he was doing.

"I want to leave." Gaara hissed at him as soon as he was within earshot. "How do I escape?"

"Act like you're dizzy, and fall against me." Neji advised. "They'll think you drank too much."

"As long as you catch me." Gaara's voice made it clear there would be repercussions if he fell.

"Of course." Neji assured him, and Gaara did as instructed. A moment later he was walking Gaara out of the party, his arm around his waist as though his roommate couldn't walk. Surprisingly, Temari was too engrossed in her chess match to notice.

"Thanks." Gaara breathed as Neji released him once they were in the room and out of danger of being dragged back to the party.

Neji was glad he'd gone.

--

To be continued…


	3. Chapter 3

Everything in Between

Everything in Between

Chapter 3

--

Sasuke was glad when classes started. He didn't like spending hours with other people his age, being forced to socialize. He liked the focus required when he had his studies to think about, homework to do and classes to attend. He was satisfied with his roommate situation. He had understood going to school would mean living with someone else for at least one year. Actually, he had been sorely tempted to plead with Itachi, his older brother and guardian, for an apartment near campus, but when Itachi had refused his initial request, his pride had outweighed his loathing of these situations.

It could have been much worse, he knew. What if he had ended up in a triple, with two other people constantly trying to talk to him and involve him in their activities? He imagined what it would be like to live in the room down the hall, with any combination of Naruto, Kiba, and Chouji. He would probably be forced to seriously hurt people.

As far as roommates went, though, he felt it could have been much worse than Shikamaru. He slept or studied or played chess whenever he was in the room, and Sasuke assumed that outside of the room, he also stayed within the bounds of these three activities, although he wasn't sure, since he never tried to get Sasuke to go hang out with him. Sasuke was very glad of this, and he enjoyed the peace and quiet of his room. It was almost like he lived alone. Shikamaru also was not very messy, and did not seem to mind Sasuke's strictures about not eating in the room and never throwing wet towels on the ground, and always putting laundry in a hamper. For all these reasons, Sasuke was prepared to consider Shikamaru his friend. They even played chess together on occasion. This was as much social interaction as Sasuke ever felt he could handle or desire.

However, there were things about college dorm life he did not like at all. First on his list of annoyances, not necessarily because it was the _most_ annoying thing, as because it was closest to him in proximity, was the room across the hall. His next door neighbors were a pair of very quiet guys whose names Sasuke did not know, but he found their lack of noise-making to be extremely wonderful, since he needed peace and quiet to study. However, across the hall, there was a quiet, but eccentric bug collector, and an extremely loud and exuberant athlete. He did not think he liked either of them, but between all the baby spiders that had gotten into his room during the first week of school, and the 4 a.m. workouts that for some reason required a lot of yelling and stomping and running, Sasuke favored Shino. The spiders had been easily handled, though Shino still shook his head in disapproval every time they saw each other, as knowing that Sasuke had poisoned them had apparently deeply hurt the other boy's feelings. However, no amount of glaring or yelling or throwing things, or anything else he had thought of seemed to be able to stop Lee from making an inordinate amount of noise at a time that Sasuke refused to believe sane people recognized as a good time to be awake. Instead, Lee seemed to think this was all in good fun and declared Sasuke a rival he would gladly defeat, and now Sasuke was pretty sure he was making more noise than ever.

However, Sasuke suspected the rival thing was less about Sasuke's point of view on when people should sleep and when they should shut up, as it was about Sakura Haruno, a girl who lived just on the other side of the nameless quiet neighbors, two doors down from Sasuke and Shikamaru. She was one in a long line of girls that seemed to arbitrarily decide that Sasuke and her were meant to be, and was persistently pursuing his attentions. He was used to ignoring this sort of thing, as he had been since kindergarten, and in fact, there was another girl living right across from her, Ino Yamanaka, who also seemed to believe that any day now Sasuke would break down and go on a date with her. However, the problem with all of this was not just that both girls were extremely irritating and shrill in their efforts, but that Lee seemed to be under the impression that Sakura and him would someday be married. Of course, he saw Sasuke as an obstacle, and he was the type of person who was never discouraged by any sort of obstacle, only more determined than ever to overcome said barrier to his goals. Therefore, he was constantly trying to get Sasuke to agree to various contests of everything from athletic prowess to cooking to literary knowledge, so that Sakura would see that he was superior, and spurn Sasuke in favor of Lee. Sasuke wished she would spurn him. He thought that she was probably a normal person underneath the constant nagging and following and giggling and attempting to win his affections, but he never got to see that person, so as far as he was concerned, she was extremely annoying, and he would gladly have her get together with Lee so that he could be done with both the challenges, as well as her aggravating persistence. Perhaps if he was getting laid, Lee would sleep in past 4 a.m. as well, so Sasuke was all for it. However, his refusal to accept the challenges and his policy of utterly ignoring, if not insulting Sakura seemed to have no effect at all, and so it continued.

In addition, one of the annoying party-throwing noise-makers from the triple down the hall _also_ seemed to find Sakura to be quite the catch. Honestly, Sasuke thought that aesthetically speaking, Ino was probably more appealing, but seeing that he did not and never would have any sexual interest in women, this meant very little. However, he did find it interesting that Sakura was drawing so many suitors. He supposed when she wasn't trying to kiss up to him and get him to see that even though all these years he had never wanted a girlfriend, she was the one to change his mind, she must be quite interesting or fun or something. Otherwise, it made no sense that she had caused two guys to hate Sasuke and vow to defeat him for her attentions, while no one that he knew of wanted him dead so that Ino would pay attention to them instead. Perhaps she was just as much of a bitch around everyone as she was around him. Not that it really mattered to him, but it was all very annoying. Naruto Uzumaki, the other Sakura-lover, was constantly just trying to pick fights with Sasuke, which was simpler, and admittedly, much more difficult to resist than the challenges Lee issued. He knew he could get in trouble for fighting, possibly even kicked out of school, but somehow, it was very hard to resist the blonde. He found himself even provoking Naruto, just to see how flustered and annoyed he would get, and then take advantage of the idiotic mistakes he would make when he was angry to beat him and then annoy Naruto further by lording the victory over him. A lot of these fights started at soccer practice. Soccer was one of the few activities that Sasuke had ever shown any interest in that required him to be around other people. However, since it involved kicking things, sometimes at the other people, he found it all to be quite enjoyable. He had played it since he was young, and had decided to continue now that he was in college, as he found it an excellent way to work out his frustrations. Some of the other people he knew from his dorm were also on the team. Chouji was the goalkeeper for the team, and Naruto, Kiba, and Lee, who seemed to be involved in several sports, were all on the team as well. Since Lee and Naruto clearly did not like him, this made the practices much more exciting, as they often involved purposefully fouling each other, and possibly full-blown fist fights, which the coach, an overly energetic weirdo who was always talking about youthful spirits, would break up eventually, and then lecture them on how to redirect their passions into something more productive, such as winning the next soccer match.

Also, he still couldn't find his vacuum, and he had even called home to check and see if he had forgotten to bring it, but it was not there either. He refused to buy a new one on principal, since he knew that he had one, and that it had to be _somewhere_, and when he found it, the perpetrators would most certainly be made to pay.

However, he was enjoying his classes. They were interesting and more challenging than his high school education had been. He was thinking about majoring in physics, since it would make Itachi angry, and because he enjoyed all the math and logic involved. He was not sure what he planned to do in the future, at this point he was simply enjoying doing something for himself, despite the fact that Itachi wanted him to major in business and go on to get an MBA so that he would be prepared to serve under him in the company their family owned, which Itachi currently ran since the death of their father last year. He did not like Itachi very much, but he had to admit that it was rather admirable the way he had completely overcome all objections by the board that he was too young or inexperienced during the power struggle after their father's death. He had continued to resist all of the board's attempts to control him, as well. Itachi was not someone to be meddled with, that was for certain, and he would definitely be extremely upset to hear that Sasuke was not taking any of the classes he had "recommended," and instead had chosen his courses on his own. Knowing that there was no way to hide it once the grades came back at the end of the term filled Sasuke with an odd exhilaration. He did not stand up to Itachi often, and he was sure the least he could expect for this was a hard punch in the face, while it was more like that Itachi would either cut him off or attempt to take something away from him, or simply force him to leave school somehow and kick him out. However, at least cutting him off would be extremely difficult, legally speaking, since his father had made specific arrangements for each of them in his will, perhaps seeing the issues that could develop if he made Itachi the sole executor and heir. Since that would be the most difficult situation for Sasuke, he was grateful to his father for his foresight.

Currently, he was simply avoiding his brother's phone calls. Itachi could usually tell when he was lying, so this seemed the wisest course of action to Sasuke. All in all, it was not that much different from how he reacted to his brother at home. Here, however, it seemed there were no repercussions, and until he went home for the holidays, he felt he was free to do as he pleased.

He was enjoying college.

--

"Hey Sakura!" Naruto beamed at his coworker as he tied up the plain black apron that the campus café workers wore. "How were your classes today?"

"Fine." She rolled her eyes at him. He didn't get it. Why was she always so annoyed with him? He'd been nice to her since they had first met, and he always asked her questions about things he thought she might find interesting, and Kiba assured him that girls loved that sort of thing, since it gave them the opportunity to talk, which girls liked to do. However, no matter what he said or did, she really didn't seem to like him at all, and it made Naruto worry that nothing he could do would help him overcome the stigma of his past, and that he would always be someone who was forced to watch everyone else have fun and spend time together while he stayed alone forever. He didn't like depressing thoughts like that, and every time he thought of something like that, he tried to remember how lucky he was, as well.

It was true that he had grown up in an orphanage without any money or family, but some of the other orphans had not been mean to him, although school had been rather difficult. It seemed that everyone could sense he was different from them, and they refused to speak to him, to spend time with him, or ever give him a chance to show that just because he did not have parents did not mean he was a bad person. However, this had taught him to always appreciate everything he had, and to work hard all the time, so that was good. He had originally thought that once he could buy his own things with money he made at his part-time jobs, he would be more accepted at school, but he found that since those people had known him his whole life, they were not willing to change their mind about him. But that had made him try even harder to get into college, where maybe he could make some friends, and he _had_ immediately been able to make friends. Every day was wonderful here, knowing that there were people would talk and laugh and smile with him, and even if some people insisted on ignoring him, like Sakura, or being deliberately cruel to him, like Sasuke, he knew that this fresh start had been what he needed. And hadn't it almost been a _good_ thing that with no friends in high school he had worked so hard and earned multiple scholarships? One he had earned for his grades, and another had been an art scholarship for his photography. He was planning to be a photography major, and he had saved up his money to be able to afford his cameras, but was still saving up for a computer, which would make his work easier, since he liked to do normal photography as well as digital. However, for the time being, he was lucky just to be here, and he would not be discouraged by Sakura treating him like a bug. He knew that she was nice, and she just was trying to push him away because she thought she was in love with Sasuke, but Sasuke was a mean guy, and as soon as she figured that out, she would have him there, waiting for her.

Unfortunately, Lee was also waiting, but he would cross that bridge when he came to it. He had been lucky again to get this job. There were various work study jobs on campus, and he couldn't believe how lucky he had been to pick the same place to work as Sakura. It was because they were similar people. They were both very determined to do what needed to be done, and they were both hard workers. The café job wasn't horrible, but sometimes it could be tough, and she rarely complained. She knew what it meant to have to work for things, and he thought that they could understand one another if she would only give him a chance. However, despite his troubles with Sakura, he had already made friends with a lot of people. He was even friends with Sasuke's roommate, and Sakura's roommate as well. He thought that Sakura kind of liked him but just thought it was annoying that he kept trying to get her to go out on a date with him, since she had said no, but he was sure she'd soften up. Even Lee and him got along pretty well, despite both wanting to date the same girl. Maybe the fact that they both didn't get along with Sasuke was bringing them together or something. However, Sasuke…he couldn't decide if he wanted to punch him, or just desperately wanted him to acknowledge him. It was hard to say. Sasuke was a pretty cool guy, he had to admit, like Gaara and Neji down the hall, but while he had even been able to make friends with them, for some reason, Sasuke seemed to stubbornly refuse to spend time with anyone unless he was making fun of them. They had things in common, too, but Sasuke didn't seem to care about that. Naruto had heard that Sasuke was from a really rich family, and he wondered if he just didn't like poor people, but he thought that was pretty horrible if it was true, because it didn't bother the Hyuugas, who he knew were from a rich family, since he had heard of their corporate empire before. Also, Kankurou had explained that his family was really well off when Naruto had asked about Gaara's really nice car, but they all seemed to like him just fine, too. Sasuke was just being stubborn.

"Hey, Sakura, did you have tennis today?" he asked, trying again, moving to clean some cups. He knew that she didn't like doing the dishes as much as preparing food, so he tried to always do them for her when they worked together.

"Nope." She answered, not elaborating. Typically, he found that she thought that if she just didn't talk to him any more than necessary, he would stop talking to her. What he had figured out, though, was that he was much more patient about this than she was.

"Didn't you try out for the choir? Did you get in?" he asked. Despite the way she treated him, he paid attention to everything she said, sure that she would eventually see what a good boyfriend he could be. She was really smart and could be very sweet to people she cared about. He saw the way she was with Hinata and her other friends, and he desperately wanted her to be his friend as well, even if she would never date him.

"Yes." She pursed her lips and moved to dry the cups he was cleaning. She always forgot to mean to him eventually. "I got in."

"That's awesome!" he told her, trying for a high five, which she did not give him, but she did have to try very hard to repress a smile. "So are you soprano?"

"How did you know?" she seemed momentarily off kilter.

"I could hear you practicing down the hall. Could also hear Ino, so it was hard to tell at first, but your voice is more like you." He explained. She opened her mouth to speak and then snapped it shut.

"Ino got in, too." She said in a grumble.

"She's not so bad." Naruto told her. "She's kinda like Temari. Bossy, but well-meaning, you know?" Sakura actually laughed at that, but they had all witnessed the way Temari ruled over her brothers, or at least attempted to. "I heard she went out for choir, too."

"She did, she's actually really good. Oh, did you know Sai's in choir as well?" Sakura told him, finally dropping her normal coldness and reminding him of the person he was trying so hard to get close to.

"Sai can sing?" Naruto made a face that Sakura couldn't help laughing at.

"Yeah, he has a surprisingly pretty voice." She attempted to keep a straight face, but at the look that Naruto was making, she started laughing again. "He really does!"

"Kankurou will be heartbroken." Naruto told her, finishing off the dishes and standing against the counter as they waited for customers. He liked that this shift was usually really slow, because it gave him time to talk to Sakura. "I think he's trying to make Sai into his protégé."

"He should try Kiba instead." Sakura clicked her tongue and Naruto laughed. Kiba was very impressed by Kankurou's ability to help with parties, to bartend, and to acquire alcohol, which he never asked to be reimbursed for. He wasn't sure Kiba idolized him, but he definitely had at least a little bit of hero worship towards the older freshman. "Seriously, though. Think of what Sai's parents would think if they knew who was trying to_ educate_ him about social situations. Honestly."

"Kiba's like my best friend, don't talk about him too harshly." Naruto told her. "He may seem like a big goof-off and everything, but he actually studies really hard. You guys are actually probably in some of the same classes, since he wants to do vet school after this." Naruto knew that Sakura was planning to be a doctor, and he knew many of the pre-med and pre-vet requirements were similar.

"Actually, we are in chemistry together. I wondered about that." She nodded. "He must be in another section of biology, though."

"Yeah, and he does work-study in the computer lab, so he spends almost all his shifts studying and stuff." Naruto explained, since he was very familiar with his roommates' study habits at this point.

"That job sounds like cake." Sakura sighed. "Although this isn't too bad, but it would be hard to bring your homework."

"Yeah, well Shikamaru does one of those building sign-in sheet jobs." Naruto told her. "I saw him once. He sleeps through the whole shift."

"You could, that job is just a way for them to give us financial aid without making us do actual work." She shook her head in disapproval. "Do you know what his major is?" she asked.

"He's probably going to do philosophy, but we don't have to declare yet." Naruto shrugged. "He's taking a bunch of it, though. I tried to read one of the books…no wonder he's always sleeping."

"That's mean!" she giggled, despite herself. "I'm sure he must find it interesting if he wants to study it. He just sleeps because…that's the way he is."

"Yeah, maybe he's actually nocturnal, like part cat or something." Naruto guessed jokingly. "He goes out at night and hunts. And also studies. But he doesn't bring anything home, because Sasuke would have an aneurysm if there was a dead mouse on his precious carpet that isn't even _his_."

"Sasuke's just very clean," Sakura clammed up slightly at his comment. "Most boys are slobs. I think it's so awesome that he keeps everything so neat and tidy all by himself, even though you know he had like maids and stuff to pick up after him at home."

"Yeah, imagine being able to pick up your own shit with your pampered, manicured hand." Naruto snorted, and Sakura immediately reddened.

_Oops. I have to stop getting annoyed when she talks about Sasuke._

"You're an idiot!" she huffed over to the cash register and stood with her back stiff until someone finally came and ordered. Naruto tried to help her and she swiped at him with one hand, almost hitting him. He was used to this, though, so he dodged it and just stayed out of her way for the rest of the shift.

_Oh well. Maybe next time I won't mess things up._

If only Sakura could be more sensible when it came to Sasuke. Clearly he was a spoiled brat, and a giant jerk to boot. Nothing about that was worth defending, he thought. He couldn't see why she insisted on making him seem so much better than he was.

_It's like all she cares about is his pretty face, his nice body, and his money. But she's not that kind of person at all! She's really smart and nice, and I know she isn't that superficial. I know, or she'd get along better with Ino, who dresses really nice and is really pretty, but can be kinda…well. I know that he's way better looking than I'll ever be, but I'm like twenty times nicer than him. Maybe fifty. Why doesn't she get sick of him?_

Naruto didn't really think of why he didn't get sick of her. After all, it wasn't the same. Sakura let her guard down around him sometimes, and then…then she was really nice, and a really fun person to be around. And yeah, she was really pretty, that was true too, but that wasn't why he liked her. He wished she could see him the way she saw Sasuke, and he didn't understand why she couldn't just move on. He never seemed interested in her at all, and it was just stupid.

"And the first to reach the top and retrieve the kite will be the winner!" Lee's voice was distinctive, so Naruto recognized it even in the twilight. He turned on the path to his dorm, and saw Lee, who had a habit of ambushing Sasuke with various inane "challenges" doing just that. He was indicating a tree that had lots of great branches for climbing, so Naruto deduced that the new challenge was tree climbing. He narrowed his eyes and saw that there was a kite caught in some of the higher branches, and he chuckled, heading over to see what would happen. Sasuke spotted him at once.

"Hey, idiot." Sasuke liked to tease Naruto about being an art student. He had explained that art students were people who had never learned to read, and then Naruto had tried to punch him in the face only to have the wind knocked out of him.

"Bastard." Naruto returned their standard greetings and then nodded at the other young man. "Hey, Lee."

"Hello, Naruto!" Lee was full of energy, as usual. "Sasuke and I are about to enter a contest of manhood! Would you like to bear witness to the challenge?"

"Love to." Naruto folded his arms and looked at Sasuke expectantly. "I'm sure he's sick of always just conceding to you."

"I don't even acknowledge the dumb challenges." Sasuke retorted, annoyed. "I'm not conceding, but I'm also not wasting my time."

"Busy right now?" Naruto asked. "Must be hard, not having to work for anything, and just ignoring anything that requires you to work at all."

"Oh yeah?" Sasuke snorted. "Fine, Lee. I'll take your stupid tree-climbing challenge. Let's go." He tossed his book bag on the grass and removed his jacket, stretching his arms momentarily over his head and standing at the base of the tree with Lee.

"Naruto will start the race." Lee insisted, and Sasuke nodded, so Naruto cleared his throat.

"Ready, set, go!" he called, and they started scrambling up the tree. Naruto noticed at once that Lee kept letting out little calls of triumph whenever he found another set of limbs to climb up further, while Sasuke just kept cursing. He really hoped Lee won.

"You can do it, Lee! He's way behind you!" this wasn't necessarily true, but Lee was a bit higher in the tree than Sasuke, so it wasn't a lie, either. This caused Sasuke to make a bold move, swinging himself upward and letting go with both hands to grab a higher branch.

He missed.

"Shit!" Naruto couldn't help running, as though he had any hope of catching the figure falling through the air. He knew Sasuke was too heavy for him to hope to stop, but at least he could break the fall. He might really dislike Sasuke, but he didn't want him to break his neck falling out of a tree that he had goaded him into climbing in the first place. "Ooomph!" all the air left him in a rush as he was crushed under the man, who fell right on him.

"Are you okay?" Lee had stopped climbing up, and was now struggling to find a path back down. "Sasuke? Naruto? What's going on down there?" It was clear from the worry in his tone that Lee also didn't wish irreversible bodily harm on his rival, either.

"You…are so fat." Naruto managed to wheeze. This had probably been the dumbest thing he had ever done. He was having serious trouble breathing, and he couldn't decide if it was because he had a person sprawled on him, or if it was something to do with the way he seemed to be unable to find any air when his senses were full of Sasuke's smell. It was like he was breathing in liquid, the smell was so overwhelming he felt sure he would drown in it.

"Idiot," the grumble was somehow not as annoying as it had ever been before. He was so relieved to know that Sasuke wasn't dead, he wanted to hug him, but he was pretty sure he would receive more physical injuries for his concern. "Why'd you stand there?"

"I was gonna catch you, but you're too fat, I said." Naruto told him, his breathing still feeling thick and shallow. He wondered if he had some sort of serious injury.

"Why do you care?" Sasuke asked, but it wasn't harsh for once, and Naruto didn't know how to answer as the other man shifted, his dark eyes boring into Naruto's own. "I thought you hated me."

"I hate…the way you treat me." Naruto told him, and as Sasuke shifted, he winced. "Please…"

"What?" Sasuke was closer to him now, and he couldn't breathe at all, and he felt like he would pass out soon. "I should thank you. I could have broken my neck." His voice was husky, and Naruto thought he was trying to say something, but he couldn't figure it out, since he was too busy suffocating.

"Please…my ribs." He managed. "I think they're cracked."

"Oh." Sasuke sounded surprised and ashamed. "Sorry."

"Sasuke, are you alright?" Lee had just reached the ground, and Sasuke stood slowly, testing out his limbs.

"My ankle's sprained." He told them stoically, even though he had not shown any pain while standing. Naruto supposed he must be so used to soccer injuries that he was used to hiding the pain, since Sasuke probably didn't think it fit his cool demeanor to react like that. "I landed on Naruto, and he thinks his ribs are cracked. Can you get Health Services to send a van out? I'll stay here with him."

"At once!" Lee saluted him as though they were in the army before running off to their nearby dorm, leaving Naruto with Sasuke once more. Sasuke sat, and this time, even in the dim light of dusk, Naruto caught a slight grimace of pain on Sasuke's face.

"Does it hurt?" he asked, and Sasuke laughed.

"Not as bad as you must hurt if you really did crack a rib." Sasuke assured him. "I cracked two once, trying to get this shot in at the end of a match, and these two guys from the other team crushed me, like this." He clapped his hands to demonstrate. "Right between them. I broke one of their noses, but cracked ribs hurt like hell."

"Mostly when I breathe." Naruto tried to shrug, then decided that was a bad idea.

"What made you do that?" Sasuke asked after a brief pause, and Naruto considered the question.

"Well, if you got hurt, it would've been my fault." He explained. "I mean, I made you do it."

"You didn't make me." Sasuke sighed. "So you were trying to stay out of trouble?"

"Not really like that." Naruto told him. "I can't just let someone fall like that and not do anything. I mean, I guess when I think about it, even if you guys had already been climbing when I came along…I would have to try and help if you fell."

"That's noble of you." Sasuke sounded like he was trying to be mocking, but just didn't have it in him. "Now neither of us will be able to play soccer for at least a few weeks."

"Shit…coach'll be pissed." He hissed at the pain in his chest at his sharp intake of breath at this realization, and Sasuke shifted, hovering over him.

"Are you sure your ribs aren't broken?" he asked, sounding worried.

"Like, you think I punctured a lung? Wouldn't I be dead already?" Naruto asked. "Or at least coughing up all kinds of blood or something."

"I don't know, I'm not a doctor." Sasuke tried to feel Naruto's ribs, and was rewarded with a pained yelp. "Okay, okay!" he huffed, feeling completely useless.

"I wish Sakura was here." Naruto tried to laugh, but it hurt too bad, and Sasuke frowned at him.

"What for? You think she would have thrown herself under me instead?" he asked.

"No, I mean because she's studying to be a doctor." Naruto explained. "I doubt that she would be able to tell anything…since she's just pre-med now, but she has a lot of first aid training and stuff. She likes to volunteer at hospitals and things like that."

"Really?" Sasuke had a hard time picturing the giggling pink-haired girl being that serious about anything.

"Yeah, she's actually a really awesome person…if you'd give her the time of day." Naruto wheezed and had to rest a moment. "She really likes you, you know. I keep trying to ask her out, but she could care less. All she wants is you."

"Well, she'll just have to get over it." Sasuke told him. "She's not my type."

"What is?" Naruto asked, putting a hand to his tender chest and hissing, taking the hand away again. "Rich girls with big inheritances that will impress your parents?"

"My parents are dead." Sasuke told him in a flat tone, and Naruto flushed, feeling a first class idiot.

"Sorry, I didn't—" Naruto cut himself off, knowing that an apology like that was completely ineffectual. "Did you know them?"

"I knew my mother a little." Sasuke admitted. "She died of an illness when I was ten. My father died last year in a plane crash, so I knew him better."

"Did you have any…siblings?" he asked, and Sasuke nodded, not elaborating. "That must be fun, having brothers and sisters."

"Just the one brother, and trust me, he's not fun." Sasuke sighed. "What about you? Were you an only child, then?"

"I guess." Naruto told him. "I don't really know…I grew up in an orphanage. I don't really know anything about my family other than my parents died when I was a baby, and clearly if I have any other family, they weren't interested in me. Maybe one day I'll be a really famous photographer and then someone will call me up and tell me they're my uncle or something…I always thought someone would come pick me up from the orphanage, but obviously not."

Sasuke didn't know what to say to that. Naruto had grown up by himself? No family at all? He couldn't even imagine that. He wondered if it was easier just to never have a family, or to have to lose them the way he did. How was Naruto always so cheerful all the time? He had heard that Sai was adopted, but Naruto had never been adopted in all the years he had lived in the orphanage.

"Hey, stop pitying me over there! I can tell." Naruto grumbled. "It's not like they serve us gruel and make us wear sacks and scrub floors all day. I mean, I was poor, but I learned lots of good things growing up there. And when I turned eighteen, I got to leave, and then I got enough scholarships to come here, so it's pretty great, right? It's not supposed to be a sad story."

"How can you just…" Sasuke shook his head, not knowing what to say to all this. "So you really don't hate me?"

"No, I just hate when you call me names and pick fights with me." Naruto answered, smiling softly.

"Good." Sasuke nodded, and then perked up as a van pulled up beside them, and Lee ran over to join them, apparently having decided to ride in the van to be sure they found Sasuke and Naruto.

"He may have cracked ribs, and he says his ankle is sprained." Lee pointed to them in turn, and the two Health Services workers helped Sasuke into the van, propping up his leg before putting Naruto on a stretcher and putting it behind Sasuke in the very back of the van.

On the drive, Sasuke let his hand dangle over the back of the seat, and felt a smile on his lips when he felt Naruto find it and squeeze it with his own hand.

Overall, it wasn't a bad night.

--

To be continued…


	4. Chapter 4

Everything in Between

Everything in Between

Chapter 4

--

"I just don't know if I think I agree with the professor." Temari told Tenten as they entered their dorm, returning from class. "I don't think everything can always be classified in such a black and white fashion. I mean, when you think of who writes history books—"

"Always the winner, right?" Tenten smiled and Temari blinked in surprise before smiling and nodding as they waited for the elevator. "I know what you mean, it's hard to take at face value, but by that argument, you could say that no one was ever _really_ evil, including people like Hitler, and if that's the case, then you could extend that to mean _everyone_, like serial killers and things like that. Saying that they're never really evil, that they just have a different point of view."

"Well, okay, good point." Temari flushed as they entered the elevator. "I'm just saying that an individual's actions aren't the same as the actions of an entire government."

"But what if it's a government controlled by an individual who doesn't see accountability for their actions?" Tenten argued. "This is us." She stepped off the elevator with Temari.

"Then that individual is living a lie. Eventually they'd be overthrown if they were going against the public's wishes. Again, Hitler." Temari returned. "I guess I see what he was saying, though. I just thought of it in a different way."

"Yeah, I see what you mean." Tenten unlocked her door and let Temari in. "How is everything else going? Still worried about your brother?"

"Which one?" Temari joked, snorting at her own quip before shaking her head. "Well, honestly, I just don't know about that Neji. He's so hard to…well, he isn't exactly an open book, is what I mean."

"Neither is Gaara." Tenten pointed out. "Maybe they get along because they're similar."

"But then Neji will just encourage him to stay in his hidey hole and avoid people. It's so aggravating. He's at college! I want him to experience so much." Temari explained. "He can make friends, fall in love, figure out what he wants to be, figure out who he is…"

"Sounds like what you're planning to do." Tenten teased. "So how's the checklist coming? I know you've made friends. Fallen in love yet?"

"Like I have time." Temari sighed. "I don't know…I know I shouldn't, but sometimes I feel like I can't work on my own life until I have the boys taken care of. Kankurou is hopeless at times, but at least he seems to be making friends, and I swear I caught him studying the other day."

"He goes to class?" Tenten joked. "No, I'm sorry."

"Well, most of the time I can hear him in there giving Sai _horrible_ advice." She shook her head. "Living next door to him, I thought I could keep an eye on him, but I worry more about Gaara. And honestly, I don't think Kankurou's a good influence on Sai. He needs to live with someone like Naruto. Someone who knows how to talk to people and isn't afraid to help out, but also someone who won't teach him drinking games and colorful phrases."

"You think Naruto doesn't cuss?" Tenten arched an eyebrow. "I guess you weren't there last night when they brought him back from the infirmary and he had to walk to bed with his dumb brace thing on."

"Oh! I still haven't visited him." Temari smacked her forehead. "I should make sure Gaara does, as well. Should we get him flowers? No, he's a boy, what am I thinking."

"We should make him some ramen. Naruto _loves_ ramen." Tenten advised, and she giggled when Temari made a face as they both stood. "I'm serious!" they walked out of the room and went next door, where the triple that Naruto live in was situated.

"Hello?" Temari knocked on the partially open door and poked her head in. "Is it okay if we come in?"

"Sure." Naruto was in bed, looking very bored, and oddly enough, Sasuke was also in the room, sitting at the foot of the bed with his sprained foot sticking out over the edge, the other tucked beneath his knee, and a book resting open in his lap.

"Hey Sasuke, how's the foot?" Temari asked, and he shrugged, looking a bit annoyed. However, he usually always looked annoyed, so it was hard to tell if he was more annoyed than usual.

"Want some ramen?" Tenten asked Naruto, who nearly sat up in bed, winced, and then lay down carefully again, nodding enthusiastically. "Where's your stash? We'll make you some."

"Bottom drawer." He pointed to the dresser. "Pork flavor!"

"I thought you were supposed to cut apples for sick people." Sasuke pointed out as Tenten obliged, showing him the package before leaving again with Temari to make it. Naruto seemed suddenly much more excited, which annoyed him. He had been here since his classes ended at two, and he didn't seem that excited that Sasuke was taking time out of his day to spend with him. Granted, he was studying, but just because Naruto had been injured didn't mean he needed to fall behind in his classes as well. Neither of them were allowed to exercise at all for three weeks, and the doctor had told Naruto for the first week to stay in bed and take ibuprofren or ice down the injury when it really hurt, giving Sasuke similar instructions. Luckily, his ribs were only bruised and not cracked, but that didn't really make the blonde feel better. Naruto was so annoyed that he had to stay in bed he kept refusing pills, but Sasuke had been able to get him to accept an ice pack. It was funny how last week, he would never have come to Naruto's room straight after classes…or really at all, unless it was to tell them to keep the noise down. Oddly enough, Chouji and Kiba had not seemed surprised or confused by his sudden visitation, but maybe they were just used to everyone coming to visit Naruto at this point. Sakura had come by as well, but once she saw Sasuke in the room, she had become a giggling mess, and had not been any good to anyone.

"Ramen cures anything." Naruto assured him. "It's full of vitamins and minerals."

"I thought it was full of sodium and noodles." Sasuke arched an eyebrow, and Naruto smiled, holding in his laughter since it was a bit painful still

"Shows what you know." Naruto told him. "The first people to make ramen were healers trying to come up with a miracle food that was delicious and could fix almost anything that was wrong with someone."

"Sounds like you're full of it." Sasuke rolled his eyes, but there was the barest of smiles on his lips as he turned back to his textbook.

"Hey, Sasuke?" Naruto spoke up after another moment, and he glanced over at the blonde. "I'm glad I did this."

"Sure you haven't taken any pills?" Sasuke arched his eyebrow again and was rewarded with a pillow in the face, which he recovered held in his lap, as though Naruto had been giving it to him to use. "Thanks."

"Give it back!" Naruto reached for the pillow, and Sasuke held it out before pulling it away. "Come on, I'm an invalid here."

"You gave it to me." Sasuke set it behind his back, fluffing it and then stretched, closing his eyes as he leaned against it. "Ah, much better."

"You ass," Naruto lunged forward and then hissed, his face giving a spasm of pain. Sasuke looked over in concern as he clutched his ribs and gasped, his eyes rolling back as he collapsed back into the bed.

"Naruto!" Sasuke felt the blood drain from his face, leaving him paler than normal as he scrambled up on the bed, replacing the pillow and rearranging Naruto's limp form into a resting position, his hands shaking as he hovered over the body and then resting his head on Naruto's chest to check that he was breathing. He felt the chest rise and fall as the reassuring staccato of his heartbeat echoed in Sasuke's ears. "Naruto, come on." He lifted his head and patted the tan cheek. "Come on, wake up!" he hissed, feeling relief sweep over him as Naruto let out a groan, his bright blue eyes fluttering open.

"You weigh a ton," he breathed. "You wanna make me worse?" then he smiled and winked at Sasuke, who felt his cheeks redden at once.

"You were _faking_?" he spluttered indignantly, climbing off of Naruto and taking his spot up at the foot of the bed once more.

"So easy." Naruto sighed happily. "That was good, though. I almost held my breath when you checked it, but it hurts too much to do anything like that."

"You want mouth to mouth so bad?" Sasuke teased, regaining himself, but before Naruto could offer a retort, Hinata came in, followed by Temari, Tenten, and Gaara. Sasuke immediately shot a glare at the Hyuuga girl. She had visited Naruto in the infirmary already. Why did she keep coming by?

"Ramen!" he reached for the bowl happily, and Tenten set it on the desk while Hinata attempted to help him sit up. Sasuke hopped off the bed onto his good leg and limped over, brushing her away.

"If you do it wrong, he'll get worse." Sasuke told her, his tone accusatory as he helped Naruto sit up, as though Hinata wanted to hurt him.

"Sorry Hinata, he's been fussy. I can't get him to take his pills." Naruto told the girl, who flushed at the attention.

"You should stick them in a piece of meat. That's how you get dogs to take meds." Kiba, who had just returned from class, advised.

"I'm not his _dog._" Sasuke hissed, clearly not amused, and Kiba shrugged slightly.

"Yeah, more like his girlfriend." Kiba considered. "I'm surprised you don't sleep in here."

"Actually, he fell asleep studying earlier." Naruto demonstrated, closing his eyes, letting his chin fall against his chest before making a loud snoring noise.

"I do _not_ snore." Sasuke grumbled, hopping back onto the bed and burying his face in his textbook in an attempt to ignore the teasing and laughter in the room.

"Notice he wasn't upset about being your girlfriend." Kiba pointed out. "Of course, this is how soap opera's always work. Naruto wants Sakura, but she wants Sasuke, and he wants Naruto. What will happen!" He fanned himself as though suddenly feeling hot. "Oh, it's so exciting!"

"Kiba, that isn't nice." Hinata was so red it was as if she was the one being teased. Tenten shook her head, smiling, and handed the ramen to Naruto, who began inhaling it at once. Kiba stifled his laughter and flushed slightly.

"Sorry," he coughed to cover up his urge to continue to laugh.

"Ohma, he di' whayousay!" Naruto pointed out, his mouth half full of noodles. "Howadovat?"

"What the hell?" Sasuke couldn't let something like that pass by without comment. "Seriously, smaller bites, genius. You'll kill yourself."

"Sasuke's so _worried_!" Kiba clasped his hands, but at the look from Hinata he coughed again, lowered his hands and shrugged. "I think…that's really cool."

"Are you guys like secretly dating?" Temari finally spoke up. "Because he never does what anyone says."

"Schwa' Isay!" Naruto agreed, and Sasuke clicked his tongue in disapproval.

"What?" Hinata tilted her head, confused. Gaara took advantage of a conversation he knew he cared nothing at all about, and edged over so he was next to Sasuke, ignoring the blustering denials of Kiba and the combined teasing of Temari and Tenten.

"Hey." He spoke, and the Uchiha glanced at him, giving him a dismissive look, and returning to his book. "Everything's okay?"

"Bed rest this week." Sasuke answered grudgingly. "Three weeks, he can play soccer."

"You?" Gaara asked, and Sasuke glanced at him in surprise before answering.

"Same." The one word was enough. They preferred not to spend so much time speaking. They understood each other in that way.

"Good." Gaara turned and slipped out of the room while his sister was still teasing Kiba.

"And you _never_ make fun of her! It's obvious! You've made fun of everyone!" she pointed out. Hinata was sitting on Chouji's bed peeling an apple for Naruto, her cheeks red and her posture resigned.

"She just…doesn't do stupid things like other people." Kiba defended weakly. "Agh! I don't remember inviting you all in here like a freaking parade. You've seen him, now go! He's supposed to rest."

"What about Sasuke, he's been here all day!" Temari pointed out. "You don't make him leave."

"You wanmay' hileef?" Naruto asked around a mouthful of noodles, and Temari shook her head in confusion. Sasuke finally glanced up from his book, looking rather put out.

"He said, 'You want to make him leave?'" he translated.

"How can you even understand that?" Tenten spoke up after a shocked silence.

"It's not Greek. He just has his mouth full." Sasuke blinked before glancing down at his book. Kiba opened his mouth, glanced at Hinata, and closed it again, looking as though he was bursting to say something, probably something inappropriate.

"I don't see why we have to leave if he doesn't." Temari clicked her tongue in annoyance.

"Because he's not pissing me off." Kiba told her, and she laughed.

"So your secret girlfriend gets to stay too, then?" Temari speculated. "Fine, the price to get into this room is clearly to be one of your girlfriends, and I just don't want to try and shoulder Sasuke away from his nest, so I'll go." She beckoned, Tenten threw up her hands as if trying to tell them she really didn't know what to say, and followed her out. "Wait a second…" Temari looked around as though she'd set down her keys and didn't know where. "Where's Gaara?"

--

"They're fine." Gaara climbed onto his bed, opening a book and turning back to where he had been reading when Temari pulled him away from his studying.

"You should have told her no." Neji turned a page in his own book from where he was sprawled across his bed, tucking a stray lock of hair behind his ear as he scribbled something down in a notebook. "We could have gone later when there weren't so many people."

"You could tell Hinata no when she brings her tea in here." Gaara told him, glancing over, and Neji met his eyes.

"You drink it, too." Neji pointed out. Gaara grunted and turned back to his book. There was a long period of silence while they both went about their work.

"Sasuke's been in there all day." Gaara spoke up once more, and Neji glanced over in interest. "Kiba called him Naruto's girlfriend."

"Do you think they're dating?" Neji asked, uncharacteristically interested in other people's lives.

"How do you know?" Gaara asked, blinking at his roommate. "They don't say they are, and I didn't see them kissing or anything."

"Hmm." Neji turned back to his book, but eventually let out a sigh that Gaara recognized as being a signal that soon he would say something that he was hesitating about. "Don't you think Sasuke is a little…maybe not Naruto, I can't tell with him. But Sasuke."

"What?" Gaara blinked impatiently, and Neji heaved a sigh, rolling over on his back, causing his hair to fan out beneath him in a shimmering black sheet.

"I think he's gay." Neji clarified. "Don't you?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Gaara did not like when Neji had these bouts of gossipy speculation. It made him regret saying anything more than what was necessary. He loved Neji's voice, but it should only talk about things that were deserving of him. Who cared what Sasuke did and who he did it with. Then, as it rarely did, his mind made a leap that connected the conversation with the situation. He hesitated at first, knowing that he wasn't always the most socially savvy, and wary of saying something that would anger Neji. He found he did not want to anger Neji, for some reason. "Do you…are you interested in him?"

"What if I am?" Neji stretched out, his shirt riding up and exposing a thin strip of skin. Gaara felt suddenly very warm and looked at his book, even though all he could see was that image of Neji, stretched out on his bed, a bit of skin exposed, his neck arched and his bright eyes half closed as if…

"Then go date him before he dates Naruto or whatever it is you're worried about." Gaara picked up a pencil and blinked when he saw that he had somehow snapped it in half.

"Well, he is hot." Neji sighed, his voice husky. "But if I did that, what would you do?"

"What do you mean?" Gaara hissed, throwing away the pencil bits in annoyance and searching for another pencil, trying desperately not to see how Neji had apparently decided he was sick of his shirt and was unbuttoning it lazily, exposing half his chest and revealing the lines of his toned stomach. Neji seemed to never worry about Gaara seeing him change, which Gaara wasn't really used to, since he had always lived in his own room, and had never seen anyone change unless you counted the locker room, which was somehow…much less intimate.

"I move fast." Neji explained, yawning and stretching before sitting up, letting his loose hair hang over his half-exposed chest. "I'd probably be sleeping with him within a week, maybe a month at the most if he was shy about it. Then you would either have to try and drown it out, or sleep in another room. Where would you go?"

"Why do you care?" Gaara asked. "Do what you want." He picked up his book, left the room, and slammed the door shut behind him, feeling unaccountably agitated. He stormed down the hall, opened Sai and Kankurou's door without knocking, and took up residence on Kankurou's bed, resuming his studies, while Kankurou glanced over from his desk, where he was playing a game on his laptop.

"Hello, Gaara." Sai greeted the new arrival from his own desk, where he was studying amidst extremely neatly arranged papers.

"Neji needs the room for sex." He returned the greeting in a sour tone, his lower lip sticking out slightly. Kankurou lifted his eyebrows at the sight, not sure he felt comfortable saying that Gaara was pouting, but feeling sure that was the only way to describe this.

"He is getting the sex?" Sai seemed interested, and Gaara glared at him until he shrugged, turned back to his work, and resumed his studying.

"I didn't know Neji was seeing anyone." Kankurou prodded, feeling a bit like he was stepping on thin ice, but unable to resist a situation so different from anything he had ever known.

"He's going to, and then he said he's going to use the room for sex and I can either learn to deal with it or sleep somewhere else." Gaara broke his pencil again and cursed under his breath, falling back onto the bed and laying down flat, closing his eyes as though he was going to fall asleep.

"What's going on in here?" Temari, who lived next door and made a habit of intruding on their discussions, was quite used to simply entering without knocking from this practice. When she thought she heard Gaara in the room, she knew something strange must be happening. He wasn't very big on visiting people. "Gaara, are you hurt?" she asked, and then glanced at Kankurou, her eyes pleading. He shook his head and shrugged to show he had no idea what was going on.

"He said Neji's going to date someone." Kankurou volunteered everything he knew. "Hey, isn't Neji gay?"

"Yes! Although I don't see how that matters." Temari hissed at her brother, as though his continued discussion of the topic was extremely insensitive. "Honestly, Kankurou, you don't understand anything." She kneeled beside the bed and reached over, unable to resist the urge to brush the unbelievably red fringe away from his pale forehead, and when he didn't move, she rested her hand there, not really believing he was letting her touch him at all like this. She could count the times she had been able to hug him on one hand, two if she included the times she had gotten close before he evaded her. "Are you okay?" she asked, her voice softer than Kankurou had ever heard, and he felt momentarily jealous. She had never cared about him this way, but then again, he couldn't expect to have the same relationship she had with Gaara extend to him. They were completely different people. Temari and him teased each other, argued, and acted like standard siblings, overall. He wondered if Gaara was jealous of that. "Do you want to talk about it?" she asked, and Gaara continued not to respond.

"Perhaps Gaara is jealous because he would like sex with Neji." Sai speculated, turning once more from his desk.

"Sai!" Kankurou snorted. "You have no idea what you're talking about, so just leave this to us, okay? We're his family." He turned to Temari, who gave him a watery smile, and he licked his lips, trying to think of something meaningful to say. He was the oldest, he had to be the wise one at times like this! "Gaara, want me to beat him up?"

"No." Gaara sighed and blinked, turning his mint gaze on his sister, who drew her hand away, looking as though she had been caught doing something forbidden. "I don't know what I want."

"That's okay." She told him. "Whatever you decide, Kankurou and I will support you."

"Excuse me, " Sai walked over holding a notepad. "Could you start that over from the beginning. I have not had much chance to study brothers and sisters interacting before, and it is quite fascinating."

"Sai!" Kankurou growled, and he returned to his desk, as though he was used to this and not at all troubled.

"Do you want to sleep in here tonight?" Temari asked Gaara. "If you want, you can have my room. I can go spend the night with the girls."

"You could go spend the night with Shikamaru." Kankurou teased, and she shot him a glare so vicious, he actually stopped breathing for a moment.

"Honestly, can you be serious for longer than thirty seconds?" she asked him, shaking her head. "Sorry, Gaara, but if you want, I can."

"No…he won't be using it for that yet, I just have to think of other things. I should be focusing on my studies, and I've let myself become distracted. Trying to have friends is very difficult." He told her thoughtfully and she laughed.

"It can be, but even though it's hard, I hope you're happier here." She told him. "I want you to have everything you can."

"Thanks."

--

To be continued….


	5. Chapter 5

Everything in Between

Everything in Between

Chapter 5

--

"Up late?" Sasuke jumped slightly as he left Naruto's room. He had been absorbed in working on his report, but when his typing woke up Kiba, he had been summarily ejected from the room. He was very annoyed at this, and felt that he was being discriminated against for being a good student. And it wasn't _that_ late. College students were supposed to stay up past midnight, sometimes all night! He just hadn't realized that everyone else was asleep until Kiba had thrown that pillow at his head.

"Hyuuga." He narrowed his eyes at Neji, who was standing against the wall as though he was waiting for something. "I was working."

"You have your own room for that." Neji smiled at him, and Sasuke immediately felt suspicious. Since when did Neji smile? "Is it hard to keep it secret with his roommates always coming and going?"

"What?" Sasuke frowned, feeling thoroughly confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Naruto and you." Neji strode forward, and with two steps he was within Sasuke's personal space. Neji was taller than him, which annoyed Sasuke. "You're dating, right? Or are you just sleeping together?"

"I don't…" Sasuke backed up and found himself against the wall. He shifted his laptop from his side, putting it between him and Neji like a shield. "We're not…we're just friends."

"But you want to, right?" Neji smirked slightly, stepping forward, his arms boxing Sasuke in so that there was no easy path of escape. "Spending all your time with him, ever since the accident. Maybe you just like the chivalry thing. Want me to carry your computer?" he arched an eyebrow and Sasuke put the pieces together suddenly.

"I don't want—" Sasuke began, but was cut off when Neji kissed him so forcefully it knocked his head into the wall. He wasn't sure whether the kiss or the bump made him see stars, but he couldn't even remember what he'd been saying when Neji pulled away.

"Don't try to tell me things like that." Neji told him. "I can tell you're gay, so don't act so surprised."

"You can't…" Sasuke shook his head sharply, clearing his mind and not looking directly up at Neji. He found those silver eyes to be distracting and slightly unnerving. "Don't make assumptions. Even if I _were_—and I'm not saying I am—that wouldn't mean I'd just let you do what you want. I have standards." Sasuke turned his nose up and shoved Neji's arm out of his way, walking toward his room slightly faster than normal.

"Hey," Neji called out and Sasuke froze, cursing his own feet, and cursing the way his heart sped up at the tone of the other's voice. "If you change your mind, you know where I am."

Sasuke turned to snap out an angry retort, but Neji was gone. He wished he hadn't been so weak. And he wished he wasn't so aroused. Something would have to be done about this.

--

"Naruto, I want you to know that if there is anything you need, I will help you." Lee told his coworker, his eyes gleaming with passion. "For even though we are rivals when it comes to the love of Sakura—"

"Yeah, I'm right here." Sakura didn't even look up from the sandwich she was preparing.

"—I still feel that my obligation toward you, for having caused your injury with my thoughtless youthful fire and enthusiasm, must be repaid at any cost." Lee continued. "I know that seeing my noble actions will, if anything, cause Sakura to see just what sort of man I am, and then perhaps—"

"Seriously, we've had this talk like five times now." Sakura put the sandwich up on the counter with so much force the customer looked slightly frightened as he took it away. "You need to stop hitting on me at work. It's not professional."

"Yeah, watch out, she'll slap you with a sexual harassment lawsuit and use the money to pay for med school." Naruto cautioned the other young man, and Sakura snorted, tossing a dish into the sink and looking at him pointedly. "Thanks, though. I'm honestly just glad to be out of that damn bed, and I'm only working two hours today, so I really don't think I'll strain myself." He moved over to the sink and scrubbed the plate clean swiftly.

"It serves you right." Sakura told him, her voice slightly shrill. "Honestly, what got into you boys, trying to do something like that? And what if Sasuke hadn't fallen on Naruto? He could have _died._"

"It's okay, bruised ribs barely hurt." Naruto told her, slightly annoyed. "But that sprained ankle…I don't know if he'll ever walk again."

"You're an ass." She stormed off towards the restrooms, and Lee shook his head slightly.

"Do you not understand?" he asked Naruto, and the blonde furrowed his brow in confusion. "She is upset at the foolishness that caused it, but she is worried about you as well. She tries to hide it with anger, but Sakura has a heart that cannot help but be concerned for others, and that is one of the reasons I cannot ever give up my love for her."

"Really?" Naruto frowned slightly. "You think…she likes me?"

"What you did was very brave." Lee pointed out. "This situation…I must admit, I find myself at a disadvantage, and I must stand by and await the moment when I will be able to regain the lead."

"Yeah, well, don't do anything like what I did." Naruto snorted slightly and shook his head. "It hurt like hell, and it was dumb."

"But would you rather Sasuke be hurt much worse, or have your own pain?" Lee asked, and at Naruto's thoughtful silence, he nodded knowingly. "That is why you are a good friend, and so even Sasuke, who spurns all other company, seeks you out actively. People like you do not come along very often, and we are all lucky to have such a loyal friend, even if some of us are not as honest about that."

"Lee," Naruto blinked at the other man. "That…was really nice. Thanks."

"You're working?" Naruto smiled at the familiar, surly voice and turned to see Sasuke glowering at the front counter. "You should be in bed."

"No way, doctor said one week. It's been one week." Naruto told him and moved to the register. "I can't just lay there forever. Plus, Lee said if I get tired, he'll cover for me." Lee nodded sharply, as if accepting an important mission. "So, you hungry?"

"I don't think I trust either of you to make me food." Sasuke scowled.

"What about some tea?" Naruto tilted his head, raising his eyebrows. "I know you like tea after class, and I swear I won't mess it up."

"Fine." Sasuke scowled, but his cheeks pinked slightly at the fact that Naruto knew any of his habits. "Tea's fine."

"You should also sit with him." Lee offered. "I will make you the cocoa as you like, and that way he can spend time with you, as he wanted to do when he came here." Sasuke glared at Lee as though trying to set him on fire, slammed some money on the counter and stalked to the corner of the café, where he sat slumped in a seat so that he looked as if he was being forced to sit there. Naruto had to chuckle at the scene.

"Sounds good, although you honestly should let me actually earn the money they're paying me." He told Lee, who snatched the tea away from him and prepared it himself. "So far, I've put on an apron and washed one dish."

"It is straining simply to _stand_ with such an injury." Lee sounded horrified. "You put on a courageous front, but I would feel better if you would only take on light duties for now. If you cannot play soccer, you should not be working hard."

"Okay, but I can _at least_ carry the drinks." Naruto insisted, and Lee handed them over with some hesitation before the blonde headed over, wondering if Sakura would come back, and if she would be upset that she had missed the chance to serve Sasuke. No matter what Lee said, he knew who she really cared about.

"You shouldn't be carrying things!" Sasuke hissed as soon as Naruto reached the table, but Naruto simply sat down, handing Sasuke his drink as he did so.

"Pretty sure when he said no exercise he didn't mean no carrying sixteen ounce cups." Naruto winced suddenly, and Sasuke sat up straight, looking concerned, until Naruto stuck his tongue out and laughed. "Man, I can probably keep doing that until next year. Like 'ah, my old rib injury…it's acting up…carry all my boxes down the stairs…I just can't.' That'd be awesome."

"Such an ass." Sasuke blew on his tea and grumbled.

"You're the one making such a big deal over it." Naruto rolled his eyes. "You'll be a really good mom someday."

"Shut up." Sasuke grumbled and glanced away before looking slightly surprised and slumping down in his chair until his head was barely sticking up above the table.

"What…what are you doing?" Naruto turned and glanced in the direction Sasuke had looked and immediately started laughing. Sakura had returned, and from the way she was staring, she had spotted Sasuke. "Too late, man. She already saw you."

"If I close my eyes, will you tell her I'm dead?" Sasuke asked in a flat tone that made Naruto wonder if he was actually kidding or not.

"She'll probably try to resuscitate you." Naruto waggled his eyebrows and made a kissy face at Sasuke, who glared back at him in irritation. "Oh, here she comes, better make up something quick!"

"Naruto, are you feeling okay?" Sakura asked, smiling brightly and then turning to Sasuke, clapping a hand to her mouth. "Oh, Sasuke! I didn't see you over here. Did you have everything you need, or would you like a sandwich or something? I could make you anything you like, on the house."

"On the house, Sasuke." Naruto was grinning cheekily, and Sasuke shook his head at the other young man, feeling clearly as though he had been abandoned to the enemy's mercies.

"I'm fine." He told her. "I had to discuss something with Naruto. In private."

"Oh!" Sakura flushed slightly. "Well, I'll come by to see you later. You know, I get off in twenty minutes, if you wanted to walk home together."

"Go away." Sasuke told her, leveling a glare at her. Sakura's eyes widened, and her lip trembled before she gave a quick nod, wringing her hands together.

"M—maybe later then." And she whirled, pink hair streaming after her as she returned to the counter.

"Ugh." Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Do you seriously want to date _that_?"

"You don't ever give her a chance, do you?" Naruto frowned. "She's really smart and nice, and she's a really good friend, and she's always looking out for everyone and helping her friends out."

"Yeah, really I only get to see the horror you just witnessed." Sasuke explained, shrugging and sipping his tea. "You can see why I'd maybe not be so interested."

"You should just…" Naruto shook his head and looked away. "I should get back to work."

"No!" Sasuke cleared his throat, flushing slightly as Naruto immediately turned to him in surprise. "I mean…I really did need to talk to you."

"I told Kiba not to throw things at you anymore." Naruto rolled his eyes. "He didn't realize how upset you get when people mess up your hair, and he's very sorry."

"It's not that." Sasuke shook his head, glanced over to where he could see Sakura staring at them speculatively, and Lee trying his hardest to gain her attention. "Look, is there somewhere more private we could talk?"

"Oh man, this better be good." Naruto grumbled as he stood up and beckoned. "Come on, then." He led Sasuke back to the room behind the café where the employees filled out timesheets and put laundry for the janitorial staff to have cleaned. Sakura clearly had been very interested in this sudden change of location, so he locked the door after them. "Well? And if this is about your top five secrets to hair care or some stupid shit like—"

Sasuke pushed him against the door, not too forcefully, since he was afraid of hurting his ribs, and looked down at Naruto. Much better. He liked being taller. "You asked me a question, but I never answered. Do you remember?"

"Um…what are you doing?" Naruto wondered aloud, and Sasuke moved in closer, their noses now almost touching.

"You asked what my type was, when we were waiting for help under the tree." Sasuke told him, his voice soft and low, and Naruto found he couldn't look away, couldn't push him, couldn't seem to do anything but stare into eyes so dark and deep they hinted at eternity. "Do you remember?"

"Uh…huh." Naruto didn't even know if he did remember, he wasn't sure what was going on, and he wasn't sure that he wasn't just having a massive hallucination brought on by too many painkillers.

"This," Sasuke's hand was suddenly cupping him somewhere he had never expected to find Sasuke's hand, or really any parts of him anywhere near, "is my type."

"You're…gay?" Naruto felt sure this was a hallucination. No way was Sasuke groping him in the backroom of the café. It was so ludicrous, he expected any second to see all his friends break into the room and start a musical number. Sasuke nodded, and he leaned in, and Naruto felt he should be able to tell what was coming, but when he felt the lips on his, soft and firm at the same time, insistent and pleading and so, so sweet…

"The hell!" he suddenly snapped out of his daze and pushed Sasuke so hard he stumbled back, falling against the hamper and stumbling to the ground, wincing and grabbing his injured foot. "What the hell!?" he felt like he was going to have a heart attack, he could not make his heart slow down, and he felt like he couldn't breathe at all. "What are you thinking? Fuck, Sasuke!" and he stormed out of the room after fumbling with the lock, nearly running straight into Sakura, who was waiting outside, looking extremely worried and curious. "Good fucking luck with that one." He jerked his thumb in the direction of Sasuke and stormed off to work and try to forget everything that had just happened.

--

Tenten knocked on Shikamaru's door, feeling a bit sheepish. She had borrowed their vacuum over a month ago, and she had completely forgotten she had it until she tripped over it on the way to class. She knocked again, worrying suddenly that she would be late, and jiggling the handle. Locked. Perfect.

"Fine then." She sighed and set the vacuum down at the door, trusting the boys would find it when they returned from class, or wherever they had gone before racing off to class. Lee, hearing the knocking, stepped out of his room as she ran away, and saw a vacuum resting between his door and Sasuke's. Immediately, his mind lit on a way to cheer up Sakura, and perhaps even win her affections. He didn't know much besides the fact that he had heard Sasuke actually yell at Sakura and storm out of the café, but whatever he had said must have been exceptionally hurtful, because she had spent the rest of her shift near tears.

She was probably in bed now, pining for the cold-hearted youth, and Lee realized she needed a distraction. He picked up the vacuum and went to her room, knocking on the door. After some time, Hinata answered, looking rather mournful.

"Now might not be the best time for visiting." She told him in a hushed tone. Lee could see from where he stood that Sakura was curled up in her bed.

"I know that she is upset, and I wanted to help in any way I could." Lee moved forward, and as he had expected, Hinata let him in. "I will clean the room for you, and make you both tea, as I know you like so much to do."

"I don't…want anything." Sakura sniffled from her bed, and Hinata took the vacuum, shaking her head and gesturing for him to leave.

"Please, she is heartbroken, can you not see?" she told him. "I appreciate that you want to help. I will tell you when it is a better time for such things, if you would still like."

"But I cannot—" he was cut off as the door was closed, leaving him outside, on his own. And that wasn't even his vacuum! Lee decided it was time to set everything straight, so he would go to the source. He felt as though he was burning with a thousand fires of righteous anger as he went back to Sasuke's door and knocked on it so powerfully it shook on its hinges. He saw the neighbors look out of their own room to see what he was doing, but he could not be detracted. This was insufferable, and it had to end at once. He carried on knocking as loudly as possible

"Sasuke Uchiha! You must answer me! I know you are here!" he bellowed, ignoring the continued curious, irritated glances of the other people living on the floor. "You have committed an atrocity and you _must_ answer for it! I will break down the door if I must!"

"Fuck off!" the response only incensed Lee further. He rammed his body into the door to no effect, cursed under his breath, and decided it was time for a subtler, more refined approach. He pulled out his wallet, fumbling a card out, and sliding it into the doorjamb, wriggling the handle to no effect. He would not give up, however. He continued this maneuver, only slightly concerned about the odd thumping noises from inside the room. Was Sasuke trying to board the door up? He had to move quickly, but it seemed he had no skill for something like this.

"Hey, what's going on?" Kankurou had just come up the stairs and entered the hallway, and he saw Lee struggling and cursing, and mistook the door for Lee's own room. "Oh, need help? I'm pretty good at jimmying locks."

"I would be obliged if you could give me this chance to defend the honor of—" Lee began, but Kankurou took the card and shook his head, causing the angry young man to stop short.

"Whatever, man, I don't care if you locked yourself out." Kankurou told him. "It happens, right? No big deal, just gotta…" he laughed as he swung the door open easily, and then felt all the blood drain from his face as Lee completely forgot his anger, his mouth dropping open at what they had opened the door to.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Sasuke roared, scrambling to cover himself and shoving away the very clearly naked and very clearly excited Neji, who blinked at the intruders with a monumental lack of concern or embarrassment. "This is my fucking room!"

"You…you two!" Kankurou laughed nervously, turned around, twisting his hands together, and raced away.

"Hey! Hey, you come back!" Sasuke was trying to get out of bed, but it was hard when Neji was not releasing his grip on his hips, and his legs were sticking up in the air. He was getting nowhere unless Neji released him. "Fuck, Neji!"

"I was _trying_ to." The long-haired young man brushed his hair back behind his shoulder, freeing Sasuke at last. "You're so popular."

"Lee, Lee, don't say anything to anyone, or I will fucking kill you, I swear to god!" Sasuke sounded like he was in a complete state of panic. "And tell Kankurou that goes for him, too! Dammit, where are my pants?!" he rushed over and slammed the door so hard the neighbors looked out again, this time seeing a completely frozen, shell-shocked Lee. "Fuck, I should have known this would happen!" Sasuke cursed, throwing his shirt away as he finally located his pants, discovered they were Neji's pants, and flung them away as well. "What the hell is with you? Don't you even care?! They'll tell everyone!"

"I thought you wanted them to know." Neji shrugged, annoyed that he clearly wasn't going to be allowed to finish. "Or at least, you wanted _him_ to know."

"You don't have any idea…no idea!" Sasuke threw Neji's shirt at him. "Get the fuck out of my room, and don't you _ever_ talk to me again!"

"As if I forced you." Neji sighed. "Come back any time, I'm owed one after being exposed to them for your sake."

"At least you were on top! Everyone already knows you're gay, what the hell do you care?!" he threw the other man's pants at him and uncovered his own. "Just fucking leave!"

"Fine." Neji shrugged, not seeming at all concerned at Sasuke's sudden upset. "See you later." He pulled his pants on and left, sliding into his shirt as he stepped out of the room, closing the door before Sasuke could throw his shoes at him.

"Fucking prick. Doesn't even _know_!" Sasuke growled, threw himself on the bed, and desperately wished he could just start this whole forsaken day over again. Maybe this time he couldn't ruin his entire life.

--

To be continued…


	6. Chapter 6

Everything in Between

Everything in Between

Chapter 6

--

As a rule, Shikamaru didn't really actively attempt to cheer people up by doing extra things for them, but sometimes, he found that someone was in a bad mood, and there was something he was supposed to have done for them already that he had put off so long they had probably now all but forgotten this, and that would be the perfect time to perform the task. He could be thoughtful, if he put his mind to it, but doing special extra things for friends was usually so troublesome, and whether they noticed or not could be very hit or miss.

So when Sasuke came home from class looking like he was ready to flay alive anyone who looked at him the wrong way, Shikamaru had decided maybe it was time to figure out where that vacuum had gone. He remembered a girl asking for it, but he really could not remember what she looked like or what her name was. Hopefully she lived on his floor, because stairs were extremely troublesome. He knocked on Ino's door, since it was one of the closest rooms with girls in it to his own, but no one answered, so he shrugged and moved on, figuring he could always come back to it. He crossed the hallway and knocked on Sakura's door and heard a muffled sobbing sound, and someone calling out for him to go away. He did not want to find it that badly, so he moved on again, figuring out he could come back when there was less crying going on.

The hall was shaped like a very large L, with Naruto's triple in one corner and Shikamaru at the end. The other end were the restrooms, but he didn't know much about these rooms beside that. He thought Temari was in one of them, since this was the direction she came from to yell at Naruto and Kiba and Chouji for making too much noise. He knocked on the first door, and Neji answered, looking confused to see him.

"Sorry, Sasuke's in a bad mood, I'm looking for something." He explained hastily, Neji gave him a measuring look, nodded, and left as though he had been on his way somewhere anyway. The next door was a pair of girls he didn't think he knew, but neither knew the whereabouts of a vacuum. Two rooms later, and two strikes, he happened upon Kankurou's room, but only Sai was home at the moment. Shikamaru repeated his swift explanation, and Sai immediately asked if he could help. After a moment of consideration, Shikamaru shook his head and told Sai just to stay away from Sasuke until he calmed down, and then moved on. The room across from him was another pair of girls, but neither knew about a vacuum. At that point, there was one room left, and he knew who it must belong to.

"Shikamaru," Temari sounded hesitantly pleased to see him. "What's up?"

"Did you ever borrow a vacuum from me?" he asked her. "I loaned it to someone but don't remember who."

"That was dumb." She snickered. "No, I don't have a vacuum, but come in." Shikamaru shrugged and accepted, thinking it was easier to sit around then to go upstairs or downstairs on his continued search. Also, he wasn't sure he cared enough about Sasuke being pissy to continue the search, honestly.

"You have a single?" Shikamaru arched an eyebrow at her and she beamed at him, nodding.

"It's not as big, obviously, but it is really nice to have my own personal space. And sometimes, Gaara really needs privacy, and I let him stay in here for as long as he needs." She told him as he sat down, perusing her small bookshelf.

"What's up with him, if you don't mind me asking?" Shikamaru voiced a question that had bothered him for a while. "I mean, you guys are all related, so it seems like you'd all grow up together, but he's not really like you. Did something happen to him?"

"Gaara's our half-brother." She explained, digging through a stack of books. "Our mother divorced our father when she found out about Gaara's mother, but she died giving birth to him, so she never had a chance to take over or anything. That's why there's only five months difference between Gaara and I. My mother found out right after she had me and she pretty much just tried to get as much money as she could from him, and now she visits us like once every five years or so. I have no idea what Gaara's mother was like, but she was probably more nurturing than ours. Gaara lived the first bit of his life with his uncle, his mother's brother, but he died when Gaara was nine, and he came to live with us. At that point, honestly, he was already basically like you see him now, except more reclusive and more violent. He's gotten a lot better."

"Did his uncle beat him or something?" Shikamaru frowned. He had a hard time picturing a more antisocial Gaara.

"I don't know; he won't ever talk about his uncle to me, though, so I always kind of suspect there was mistreatment." She sighed, bringing a box over to where he was sitting on the bed. "And then all through school, every time he got teased by someone dumb enough to mess with them, he would beat the crap out of them, almost get expelled until my father stepped in, and then it would be hushed up. However, this meant he really didn't ever make any friends in school. Here…it's been a whole new experience for him, and honestly, I've seen him grow a lot. He…honestly cares about things a lot more than he ever did before. I wish father could see him now."

"Your father died a few years back, right?" Shikamaru thought he remembered Kankurou mentioning something like that. "Is that why you feel like you have to take care of them both?"

"I don't…" Temari cut herself off, smiling at him and nodded slightly. "I can't help it. They both need me so much, for different reasons. Kankurou needs to learn to take responsibility, Gaara needs to learn to join the world, and I can't just abandon them. I'm their sister."

"What about you?" he asked, eyeing the box, which was clearly a chess set. She opened it and set the pieces out, flushing deeply as she did so.

"Do I need something?" she clarified, and he blinked at her. She shook her head and concentrated on placing the pieces. "I don't know. I can't really think about that, because I'm always worrying about them."

"Maybe you should worry about yourself sometimes and let them try on their own." He told her. "You'd be surprised at what they're capable of when they know you aren't there to catch them."

"I…" Temari didn't know why she felt so flustered, but she coughed into her hand and shook her head impatiently. "I've been practicing, you know, so you're really going to have to give it your all this time." She indicated the board. "Just because I'm a girl you shouldn't underestimate me."

"That's not why." He smirked at her, seeing she didn't want to talk about her private life anymore, and feeling fine with that. He couldn't help wanting to make sure his friends were doing okay, so if anything, he felt he could sympathize with Temari's issues, except he usually didn't meddle quite so much as she did, but he did often forget about himself. "You're too hasty and overconfident. That's why I underestimate you."

"Oh yeah?" she made the first move and he followed suit. She considered her next move and placed the piece. "So, you're going to major in philosophy, right?"

"Thinking about it." He nodded, moving another of his pieces. She triumphantly captured a pawn, but then frowned as he captured the bishop she had just used. "What about you?"

"I want to be a lawyer, or maybe go into politics, so I'm majoring in political science." She told him.

"That's an interesting subject." Shikamaru nodded, and she felt her cheeks pink with pleasure. Why did she care what he thought?

"I'm in the choir, and in debate, as well." She told him. "I want to run for student council next year as well. Are you in any clubs?"

"Nope, too troublesome." He yawned to express his feelings, and she giggled.

"It's a wonder you make it to your classes." She teased, and he shrugged.

"There's really no helping it. They get annoyed when I never show up and just ace the test." He told her, and she laughed, not sure whether he was joking or not. She knew he was smart, but was he _that_ smart? She'd have to ask Chouji, who had known him since they were small children.

"Temari!" Kankurou flung the door open then, and they both looked up from the board. He started laughing. "Sorry to interrupt the foreplay, but guess what I just saw?"

"You're such an ass, Kankurou." Temari grumbled, frowning at him and trying her utmost not to blush at the insinuation. Shikamaru didn't seem affected by it at all.

"Guess!" he insisted.

"I'm not in the mood for games." She told him. "Tell us what's going on or just leave."

"Okay, fine, grouch." Kankurou attempted to stop smiling, but he couldn't keep the mirth off of his face. "Okay, I just saw Neji and Sasuke…and they were doing it! And Sasuke was on _bottom_."

"Really?" Shikamaru arched an eyebrow, slightly surprised he had not seen this coming at all. He had suspected that his roommate was gay, but then he had wondered if he wasn't just falling into stereotypes, since Sasuke took about an hour to perfect his hair and was ultra-neat. "Huh."

"What?!" Temari was reasonably more shocked. "Are you serious? Because I swear to god, Kankurou, if you are playing with me right now, it is _not_ funny."

"Why do you care so much?" Shikamaru asked her. "I know you aren't one of Sasuke's stalker clan. What, is it Neji?"

"No, no, it's not like that!" She huffed. "Don't you see? Neji is the first real friend that Gaara's made, and I've been thinking…"

"You think Gaara wants to get with Neji?" Kankurou pointed at Temari and keeled over laughing.

"It isn't funny! Think of how upset he was when he knew that Neji was even _talking_ about dating someone else. It was _obvious_ what was going on there." Temari derided him, and Kankurou regained himself slightly, recalling the situation and looking slightly impressed.

"Oh man…that does make way more sense now." He nodded slightly. "Well shit…should I tell him or not? Do you think he'll kill them both, or like, just Sasuke?"

"I have no idea what he'll do, but it won't be pretty." Temari told him. "The only thing for us to do is to keep it a secret. Gaara's come too far, we can't have that stupid pretty-boy ruin everything because he can't keep his pants on. Honestly, I knew from when I first met him he'd be trouble. He's got Gaara all confused and upset already, and if this gets out…I'll just have to tell Neji to stop it right now, because I can't have him ruining Gaara's life. What if he gets thrown out of college? Father can't step in this time, he's dead."

"Oh…well, we should go tell everyone I already told not to tell anyone." Kankurou told her, and at Temari's look of apoplectic rage, Shikamaru considered that Gaara wasn't really that different from his siblings, after all. To him, it seemed that Temari would murder people before Gaara got the chance.

"Kankurou! You're such a damn gossip queen!" Temari threw up her hands. "Who did you tell?" she asked.

"Uh, well, I told Sakura, and she fainted, so maybe she'll think it was a dream or like a really cruel joke." He suggested hopefully. "And Hinata was there, but she actually didn't seem that surprised, so maybe we can get her to keep it quiet. She barely talks anyway."

"Is that all?" Temari was mentally measuring their chances of success, and was actually relieved. Sakura, who had been lusting after Sasuke since school began, would probably be too mortified by her mistake to tell anyone, and Hinata was far too quiet to run around spreading gossip, especially if it was explained that said gossip could seriously endanger her cousin. "Tell me you didn't tell anyone else."

"Well, actually." Kankurou laughed nervously. "Chouji and Kiba…I told them. Naruto wasn't home though."

"You told _Kiba_?!" Temari looked as though Kankurou had just announced the apocalypse. "How could you tell Kiba! Honestly, he's a bigger gossip than you! Maybe…maybe if we offer to _pay _him to keep it quiet. He likes you, he'll do what you say, right?"

"Honestly, he'd probably accidentally tell people without realizing." Shikamaru pointed out. "But do you really think it will be so bad if Gaara knows? You can't just stop Neji and Sasuke from seeing each other for his sake. He has to grow up sometime, and you don't always get what you want in the real world. Even if he does have a thing for Neji, he'll have to learn to deal with disappointment like everyone else."

"Yeah, sure, that'll work out well." Temari snorted as Kankurou and her looked at him as though he was completely out of his mind. "Gaara's way of dealing with disappointment involves hitting, sometimes with heavy objects."

"Well, just keep him away from Sasuke, since he's injured." Shikamaru reasoned. "Neji's tough, he won't just lay there while Gaara punches him."

"Oh, good, because everyone else Gaara's seriously injured _did_ just lay there and take it without ever fighting back. How weird that there would be a boy who would actually fight back." Temari rolled her eyes, her tone dripping sarcasm. "Listen, Shikamaru, you clearly don't understand how serious this is! Unless you get Sasuke and Neji each a troupe of bodyguards…like at least five apiece…honestly, we'll be visiting them in the hospital by the end of the month."

"If they live." Kankurou added ominously, and Temari shook her head slightly.

"No, he wouldn't actually kill anyone." But she didn't sound that sure of herself, and Shikamaru began to see that they were serious. "We just have to get Kiba to keep his fat mouth shut. Is there anyone else?"

"No, just you guys." Kankurou told him. "Gaara wasn't home. Small blessing, huh?"

"Honestly, you should have your tongue removed. You can't control yourself at all." Temari rolled her eyes and stormed toward Kiba's room. "Shikamaru, I trust you'll keep this quiet."

"Of course." He nodded. "Chouji will, too. He never really seems interested in gossip."

"Good." She disappeared into the room at the corner of the hall.

--

Kiba whistled as he walked down the hall, feeling very pleased with himself. Today had been a very successful day. He had gotten back a biology test with a perfect score, disproving once again what he knew many of his friends thought about his study habits: that he had none whatsoever. He had gotten a care package from his parents full of junk food. And best of all, he was about to go out on a date with the best-looking girl he knew. Oh, how fortunate fate could be to those who waited patiently.

"_Kiba!" Temari had nearly tackled him as he started to leave his room, nodding to Kankurou, who closed the door and stood in front of it looking as threatening as he could._

"_What?" he looked around in alarm. Was Temari trying to take advantage of him or something? Right in front of Chouji?_

"_Hey guys," Chouji grinned._

"_Oh man, did you hear about Sasuke and—"Temari covered his mouth with one hand, her eyes widening in a way that promised him horrible pain if he did not immediately submit to her demands._

"_No! And neither did you! Chouji, you hear me?" She glared at the chubby young man, who looked up from his chemistry text and shrugged, not seeming too concerned._

"_Okay." He told her, and she turned her full attention on Kiba, who was allowed to speak now._

"_He told me!" he pointed at Kankurou accusingly._

"_Yes, and he knows I'm pissed at him already. He clearly didn't think it through. We need you to swear that no matter what, you won't say anything about this to anyone, especially not to Gaara." Temari insisted. "We would be willing to compensate you."_

"_Like…with a bribe?" Kiba was flabbergasted. Knowing that it was so important not to tell Gaara only made him want to tell the red-head more to see what it was that they were so concerned about._

"_Of course, you numbskull! Name your cost." She managed to somehow say this in a threatening fashion, so he wasn't sure if she was going to write him a check or cut his throat._

"_Okay then," Kiba thought about this for a long time. "I'll promise never to say anything about what I found out from Kankurou today if you do me a favor."_

"_I said to tell me how much." Temari glowered at him, and he finally realized what he would be willing to trade something so irresistible for._

"_I want a date with Hinata." He told her. Temari's jaw dropped, and she let out a short, strangled noise like someone had punched her in the throat._

"_You want…what, now?" she asked. "Don't you just want like a thousand dollars or something?"_

"_I said what I want. Either Hinata and I go on a date Friday, or I go straight to your baby brother and tell him all about what his roommate's been getting up to with Icy Pants Uchiha." Kiba told her._

"_Fine." She stalked out of the room with Kankurou._

Two days later, she had told him to be ready for his date at six o'clock after class. That seemed perfect to him, since that meant they could go to dinner. Girls liked when they were going out to dinner with a guy, didn't they? It had taken him a few weeks to decide between all of the girls he knew which one he wanted to date, but not only was Hinata the prettiest, she was also the sweetest, and though a lot of people didn't notice, she was really smart, and always knew what other people were thinking. In fact, he was a little worried that she would see through any bravado he might put up to try and impress her, and it was a little thrilling to know he'd be going on a date as himself. He rushed home after class ended, changed his outfit four times, and then finally decided to look cool, but not too casual, with a button up shirt and jeans.

"Man Kiba, you look nice." Naruto swept into the room, tossed his bag on the ground and grinned. He didn't look as though he had bruised his ribs a week and a half ago, but he seemed to be recovering faster just because he was _able_ to get up and walk around. "Were you wearing that earlier?"

"Nah, I've got something important." He explained, attempting to make his hair look the perfect cool amount of messy, not I-Just-Woke-Up level, but also not Clearly-Plotted level of messy either. This was a fine line he had to walk.

"A date?" Naruto guessed, and Kiba shrugged slightly, experimenting with the top button of his shirt to see whether it was better open or closed. "Have fun, man! I'm going to the movies, I'll see you later." He ran a hand through his hair and raced back downstairs. After another ten minutes, Kiba decided he wasn't making anything better by letting himself get so worked up, so he headed downstairs.

"Kiba!" Hinata greeted him at the foot of the stairs, and he beamed at her. When Ino stood up and adjusted her purse, he hesitated, and then he noticed that there seemed to be an awful lot of familiar faces waiting down here for him. "Are you coming, as well?" she beamed, and he glanced at a very surly looking Sasuke who was trying to avoid looking at almost anyone else there, and then at the ironic smile on Temari's face, the way her arms were crossed and her stance, one of complete victory. He suddenly saw what was going on.

"Man, you didn't have to get so fancy for us." Naruto ruffled Kiba's hair as he nodded and joined them, and he laughed nervously before making a beeline for Temari, who gave him an overly cheery smile and took his arm as he approached while the entire, very sizeable group walked outside of the dormitory.

"You are a deceitful little bitch, aren't you?" he hissed between his teeth, and she kissed his cheek, giggling as though he had complimented her.

"You didn't say she would be the _only_ one with you on the date. Sorry, but you can sit next to her when we get there." Temari assured him.

"Where exactly are we going?" he asked. "There's way too many people here to fit into a car to go to the theater downtown."

"Well, they're doing free screenings of different horror movies for all the rest of October, and I got everyone to come see Ju-On tonight. Including your lady love, so no complaints, and if you feel cheated, I can still give you a thousand bucks." She told him in a soft tone, smiling so that the people around would only think they were discussing some sort of inside joke or hilarious anecdote instead of what they were actually talking about.

"I'm really glad I decided you were too high maintenance to date." Kiba told her, and she gave him a slightly shocked look. "What? I considered all my options before deciding to date Hinata."

"Well, it's better this way," Temari told him. "I'm not interested, sweetie. So, did you want the money?"

"We'll call it even if you just tell me what the hell you're so worried about." He told her. "Cause I mean, you might think I'm a dumbass who doesn't give a shit, but seriously, if you give me a good reason not to, I won't tell."

"Okay," Temari nodded. "Gaara will probably put either Neji, Sasuke, or both in the hospital if you tell him. And then he'll probably get kicked out of school, and I'll have to put you in a hospital."

"You really think he'll flip out so bad?" Kiba squinted at her. "I mean, he's grown up a lot since he's been here, right? He's already so much more…like, social. Look, he's hanging out with us. On purpose." He pointed over to where Naruto was gesticulating and telling Gaara a story, which he was clearly paying attention to. He even seemed to have the hint of a smile on his face.

"Listen…I know what you mean." She sighed, and for that moment, she didn't look quite so calculating and in control as she often did. There was a vulnerability to her that made Kiba blink to see if it had been an illusion. "He's…honestly, he's like a new person! I've always wanted him to have friends, and I knew it would help…but I had no idea how much he would change. To tell you the truth, I want to believe he _won't_ react like that, but Neji…I can see there's something between them, and I'd strangle that pretty-boy myself for putting him in this situation, but honestly…I just want…"

"Him to be happy?" he asked, and she nodded.

"And I'm so afraid…I honestly can't say what he'll do when he finds out, if he finds out, if it's still going on, I don't know…I told him to stop, but I know I can't just force him to treat Gaara the way he deserves. I can't force him to care about Gaara the way I can see…" she made an odd noise, and when he looked at her in surprise, she shook her head swiftly. "Sorry, but I'm monopolizing you, and I really shouldn't. Do we have an agreement?"

"Okay," he nodded finally. "I'm not sure I agree with you, but I don't want to be responsible for something like that."

"Thank you." She smiled. "Now quick, while Naruto's over there, go talk to Hinata."

"Oh…yeah!" he winked at her and moved over to stand next to the quiet girl. He was determined to make the best of this situation, no matter what.

When they arrived at the auditorium where the showing was taking place, it became rather difficult for everyone to find seats for all of them together. In the end, they had to take up a large grouping of seats spread over three rows, and Kiba congratulated himself on getting a seat next to Hinata even through the shuffle and confusion. He attributed his luck mostly to the fact that Neji was clearly distracted with his own personal issues, and therefore forgot to sit next to her cousin to protect her from his influence. Sakura sat on her other side, seeming withdrawn as she had for nearly a week now. Naruto sat next to her, trying and failing to cheer her up and pointedly ignoring Sasuke, whose reason for coming out was made clear by the fact that he was sitting next to the blonde, trying to get his attention, while Ino sat on his other side trying to get _his_ attention.

Behind Ino, Tenten sat next to Neji, who kept trying to get Sasuke's attention, and was also ignored, but next to him, Gaara seemed to see what was happening and not like it very much, which made Kiba wonder if there was any point in him keeping things secret. It seemed to him that Neji _wanted_ Gaara to know, for whatever reason. Kankurou sat next to him, and Chouji sat next to him, right behind Hinata, happily eating popcorn.

In front of Ino, Shikamaru was looking extremely agitated with Temari, who was trying to talk to him, when it was clear he came to theaters to sleep. Sai sat next to her, going on about how excited he was to see a real rated R movie for the first time in his life, while Lee encouraged Sai from his other side, and Shino sat quietly and sedately. Possibly he was disappointed there weren't any bugs in this movie. At least, not that Kiba could recall. As the movie started, it became clear that Hinata was very jumpy, and she kept hiding her face in his shirt. It looked like it would be a very good night.

"Would you stop?" Sasuke hissed, and he turned to face the young man behind him, who looked extremely pleased with himself. "What do you want, Hyuuga?"

"I need to talk to you." Neji leaned forward to whisper, his hair rippling forward and cascading over his shoulders. "Restrooms, ten minutes."

"Like hell." Sasuke hissed. "I told you, no."

"If you don't want to talk to me, I'll talk to your little boyfriend." Neji whispered back. "I bet Naruto would love to hear about what we've been up to."

"Bastard." Sasuke turned in his seat, back straight as he looked around to see if Naruto had heard the whispered conversation, but he was leaning over trying to tell Sakura something, and she was blinking, staring rather listlessly at the screen. Well, it seemed that she knew, but at least now she wasn't chasing after him. As long as she wasn't going to tell. He knew he was in a hopeless situation. For now, he'd just have to play along until he could be sure Neji wouldn't tell Naruto everything. He just…couldn't deal with that. It was bad enough, the way Naruto had reacted to his…approach, but if he knew that later the same day Sasuke had let Neji fuck him, he wouldn't take Sasuke's feelings seriously at all. It had been a monumental mistake to let Neji "make him forget," as it had not worked at all. Now he was only more obsessed with trying to win over Naruto, and the danger of having his tryst with Neji come out…it would ruin everything he was working for.

So he got up and went to the bathroom, worried about what would happen, but knowing he would just have to face it and hope for the best.

What he did not expect was for Neji to pin him against the wall as soon as he entered the room, kissing him hard and grinding his hips against Sasuke's.

"The—fuck…" Sasuke tried to push him away, but he found himself wanting…something. He didn't know what to do. He knew that the one he cared about was Naruto, but the blonde boy wouldn't even talk to him after what had happened at the café. Neji wanted him, and he would give him what he needed, and he was scorchingly hot, to boot.

"You owe me, remember?" Neji breathed, the hot air tingling over Sasuke's skin and making him burn with lust built up over all the frustrating rejections he received every day from Naruto. This wasn't what he really wanted, he knew. But would he ever have a chance with Naruto anyway? What was he doing, trying so hard to be with someone who was clearly disgusted even at the idea. Naruto had seemed like he might be open to Sasuke's attentions, but he had made it abundantly obvious he had no interest in other men, and Sasuke would just have to learn to get over him.

If he couldn't have Naruto, he could do a lot worse than Neji. He felt his whole posture relax, and Neji chuckled, making Sasuke want to punch him. He'd known…he'd known that Sasuke was in a hopeless situation, and he would give him what he wanted if he was just persistent. It made Sasuke feel angry and sad all at once. No one put any stock in his convictions, it seemed. Not even he trusted in his own desires. He couldn't stop from moaning when he felt Neji slide into him after lifting one of his legs up to grant him access.

He was letting Neji fuck him here in this public bathroom, and any second now, anyone could come in, and he didn't even care. He just wanted…he wanted to know that _someone_ wanted him, even if it wasn't the person he wanted more than anyone else. Even then, he would have to learn to be happy. He could be happy with Neji, he knew, if he just learned to forget about Naruto, if he just let himself see Neji for what he could be. He was amazingly attractive, that was for sure, and he knew what he was doing. Even though Sasuke hadn't been a virgin, he would not have thought it was possible to have sex in this position without it being extremely uncomfortable, but it felt amazing, and full of the raw lust that seemed to pour off of Neji in waves. He was a worthy adversary, and he knew…knew somehow what Sasuke needed and gave it to him without hesitation or mercy.

He let his worries go, and clutched at Neji, letting him slam deep inside, letting himself enjoy it, and trying to pretend that this was what he had always wanted. It was so good, after all, what more could he ask for? The lust boiled in him, and he felt close to reaching climax when the door slammed open and they both froze to face the surprised person standing in the doorway.

"Gaara," Neji breathed, his voice still thick and husky, not even bothering to pull out of Sasuke. It occurred to the man pinned against the wall that it was almost as though he was using him somehow, wanting to be seen in this way, wanting to be discovered.

"_I thought you wanted them to know. Or at least, you wanted _him_ to know."_

Suddenly everything started to come together for him. Neji was just like him, wanting something he couldn't have. But Neji had somehow decided that he could use Sasuke to get what he wanted. He had the air of someone who had a plan and was sure it would succeed.

"Do you mind? I'd like to finish." Neji ground his hips forward to demonstrate, and it took every ounce of self control for Sasuke not to groan, despite the embarrassment of the situation, and the various thoughts coursing through his mind.

The next thing he knew, Gaara turned, slammed the door, and left. Neji pulled out of him and hitched his pants up, and Sasuke frowned at him in confusion. "Do you need something?"

"I thought you were going to…" Sasuke wasn't sure he wanted Neji back in him, after what he had realized, he wasn't sure if he felt empathy or disgust. He pulled his own pants back on.

"I did what I came for." Neji did not elaborate as he swept out of the bathroom.

--

To be continued…


	7. Chapter 7

Everything in Between

Everything in Between

Chapter 7

--

"Where's Gaara?" Temari pursed her lips as she spoke to her older brother, who looked around as though he had not noticed the empty seat next to him for half the movie.

"Oh, _Gaara_." He sputtered and at her humorless look, simply shrugged. "I thought he went to the bathroom, but he never came back." Temari looked around the group, sensing that there were more people missing if she could just…

"Neji, where's he?" she asked, now feeling more worried than ever. "Look, there's Sasuke, I'll ask him." She huffed off when she realized that Kankurou was going to be no use to her.

"You," she fell back so that she was walking with a mopeier than ever Sasuke, who was trudging behind everyone else, possibly because of his injured foot, but she thought probably because he done something else to piss her off. "Where are Neji and Gaara?"

"I don't know." He grumbled, "And I really don't care."

"What happened?" she hissed, grabbing his arm to stop him and force him to look at her. "I know you did something."

"None of your business." He returned, and she felt almost as though her suspicions had been confirmed.

"Just tell me this," she asked, rather irritated with his lack of cooperation. "Does Gaara know about Neji and you?" He blinked at her, shook his head and cursed under his breath before finally answering.

"Yes." He did not elaborate. It had been a bad enough night without recounting how he'd let himself be used like a cheap whore in the bathroom.

"Idiots!" she hissed. "Do me a favor; lock your door before you go to sleep tonight. I really doubt it will help, I mean, if he wants in, he'll get in."

"What do you mean?" he asked, seeming to awaken slightly from his numb sense of isolation.

"I just don't know what he's going to do. He could try to hurt you, and I don't want anyone to cost my brother this chance to be normal." She hissed in severe annoyance. "Look, I don't know what your deal is. I don't know if you even care about Neji, or if you just want a piece of action, but Gaara clearly cares for him a great deal. I've never seen him care so much about _anything_, and I know sometimes hearts have to be broken, not everything just works out perfectly, I get that. But if you don't have feelings like that for Neji, can you just promise me to stay away from him? At least, romantically speaking."

"Don't worry," he snorted slightly. "Neji's a manipulative prick, and I could care less if I ever see him again."

"Unfortunately, I agree with you." She sighed. "But I can't change Gaara's feelings, so I just have to hope for the best, even when it seems completely hopeless. Thanks." She raced away and Sasuke felt his gaze stray to Naruto, who was joking and laughing with Shikamaru and Chouji, surrounded by people who cared about him. He probably didn't even notice whether Sasuke was there or not. Dejected, he turned away, deciding he would take a long way home.

Secretly, he knew he was hoping that Naruto would notice he was gone and worry for him, possibly even search for him. But he knew that was ridiculous. Naruto wouldn't search for him. He knew Sasuke was an adult, and he hadn't seemed concerned that Gaara and Neji had disappeared partway through the movie.

--

Gaara was not sure of where he was going, at first. He felt like hurting someone, but he knew that would not help, he knew it would just make his sister upset, and that it wouldn't make Neji look at him and recognize that he didn't need anyone else. He cursed the day that he met his roommate, and cursed his own innocent stupidity, trusting him and learning to care about him to the point where he had felt that their relationship truly mattered. In the end, it was obvious that the only person who cared about Gaara's relationship with Neji was Gaara. Temari would probably be relieved, because she did not really seem to like Neji that much, and Kankurou…well, Kankurou was Kankurou.

He wandered into the library, wanting to have the comforting smell of the books surround him. And maybe if he read something, he would be able to distract himself from the overwhelming pain in his chest. Neji did not love him, clearly. Neji was with Sasuke, as he had explained that he probably would be. It was foolish of Gaara to be surprised, but he had never expected to walk in on them, certainly.

_Neji doesn't even see me, but he cares so much for Sasuke, he could not even wait until they got home. He had to have him right there in the bathroom, right where anyone could see. Right where I could see._

He wandered around the shelves aimlessly, going further downstairs until he was in the lowest level. The stairs were built in such a way that he could see a gap between the wall and the staircase, but it was very narrow. It looked as if there was a secret space behind it, and in fact, when he edged his way around the solid staircase, he saw that he was in a very dim triangular nook where the base of the stairs arched up to the wall, and on his other side, there was a wall against which the stairs were flush. It seemed he was not the first to discover this small area, because when he looked down, he could see that every area of the underside of the stairs had been covered with graffiti from past and present students, words of love, jokes, complaints about teachers, philosophical diatribes, the sort of graffiti you expect in a college, but which is typically cleaned up on a rather regular basis. It was clear that most of the words had been written by people lying down and stretching up to write on the sloping wall above them, and with only the light that entered the narrow pathway Gaara had entered through, he knew that this was probably a secret meeting place for lovers.

Probably countless people had spent the night right here, unrolling sleeping bags, or laying out thin blankets and making love where he was lying. He wasn't sure if this made him feel worse or better. Were the people who came here really in love? Did some of them come back later when everything fell apart and write some of the dejected poetry he could see, or the philosophical wanderings? Did love ever really last between anyone? His father had loved at least two women, but Gaara had no idea when his father died if he wanted to see one or both again, or if he just did not care anymore. Love was something that died in your heart when it was starved for attention, and then rotted there, leaving behind a bitter corpse of past pain, and making it harder for love to ever blossom there again. That was what Gaara believed. He felt annoyed with the couples who had laid here and whispered sweet nothings to each other, etched each others' names on the slope with the word "forever," as though that could make it true.

He let his eyes travel over all the messages, and wondered how long students had been coming here. Probably since the library was built, he assumed. He could see dated entries from ten and twenty years back, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to carve his own pain into this surface. If he did, would he be able to leave it here, in this forgotten, secret space, or would it only intensify?

His cell phone rang, and he was worried that he would be discovered because of the noise, so he pushed the button to send the caller straight to voicemail before checking who it had been.

_Neji._

He felt his heart beat faster at the thought that Neji had called him. Apparently he had finished with Sasuke and was now wondering where Gaara had gotten to. It made him feel pathetic to realize how much it meant to him just to know that Neji noticed his absence, and he waited to see if he would leave a voicemail, but there was no message. Frowning, he let his phone fall to the ground next to him, wondering how long until Temari noticed he was gone, as she was sure to call him endlessly until he answered. His phone rang again and he turned the ringer off, since he didn't want to get kicked out of his secret nook or be discovered at the moment. He let it vibrate on the ground, eventually going to voicemail again. It had been Neji again, and again he left no message.

He closed his eyes, deciding he would sleep here tonight. He couldn't face Neji, and he didn't want to face Temari's questions or her concern. He didn't know if he could keep his emotions under control, as they were barely under control right now. Temari would be happy he hadn't beat anyone up, so at least he could say he'd done one thing right. It still hurt, and he still had a deep longing to break Sasuke's face, but his rage had abated to a manageable level.

"There you are." Neji's voice started Gaara so much he sat up and hit his head on the sloping base of the stairs. Wincing and blinking to try and make the sharp pain to his head go away, he peered up at the person who had just joined him in the nook. Of course Neji would know this place. Somewhere above him, he was sure he could find a heart with Neji and Sasuke's names in it, or something along those lines. "Why are you down here?"

"Why are you?" Gaara hissed, annoyed. "Did you want to spend the night here with Sasuke or something? Because I already claimed it."

"Too bad." Neji sat next to him. "I tried to follow you after you saw us, but I had to use your phone as a locater once we got to the library. I didn't notice this gap in the wall at first. Do you come here whenever you're upset?"

"What do I have to be upset about?" Gaara retorted, annoyed that he had been located, and by the very last person he wanted to see at that moment.

"You tell me." Neji returned, and Gaara wondered if he was purposefully torturing him. "You're the one hiding in the basement of the library."

"Go away." Gaara ordered. "I was here first, and I don't want you here."

"It's an interesting spot." Neji ignored Gaara's request and let his long fingers brush over the graffiti covered slope above them. "Seems like a secret meeting place for lovers."

"Planning to bring Sasuke here?" Gaara asked, clenching his fists.

"We aren't lovers, so no." Neji smiled slightly at Gaara and blinked at the look of surprise on his face. "What?"

"I saw you, don't you remember?" Gaara asked, trying to keep a control on his anger.

"Of course." Neji told him. "I wanted you to see."

"You…what?" Gaara was trying to keep calm, but Neji's words were making it impossible.

"I said I wanted you to see." Neji repeated. "Jealous?"

"Did you…do this to make me jealous?" Gaara began to piece the puzzle together. "But…why?"

"So that you would _do_ something about it." Neji told him. "I know you want me, but you don't know what to do, so I knew to make you come after me, I'd have to make you lose your reservations. Sasuke's having a similar problem, so we helped each other."

"Do you think this is a game?" Gaara stared at Neji, completely aghast. "Do you think you have to trick me into wanting you? If you wanted me…why didn't you just say?"

"I wanted to make you lose control." Neji told him. "I wanted to see—"

Gaara could not help himself. His fist connected with Neji's chin, knocking the taller boy completely over. "There, that's how it looks." He told the dazed man on the ground. "I hope you enjoyed your game. I thought you cared about me, but I can see that isn't the case. Thank you for showing me the truth." He stood and left in a hurry, leaving his cell phone behind, and not caring. He wanted to leave all of this pain behind, and he wished he could do that so easily.

He found himself at home after a while, and he went straight past his own room, knocking on Temari's door. She answered it in surprise, tossing aside the phone she had to her ear, and giving him a hug so tight he thought he'd be suffocated.

--

Temari had first checked Gaara's room, but it was locked, and she wasn't sure whether or not it was empty, so she had moved on to see if he was in Kankurou's room, or her own. Once she reached her room, she decided to try calling him, and also thought about checking to see if he had taken refuge in Naruto's room, since he seemed to get along surprisingly well with the cheerful blonde. She had just dialed his cell number when there was a knock on her door and she answered it, hoping that someone would be coming to tell her they had found her brother.

She did not expect to see Gaara standing there, the agony hidden from most, but clearly etched in his face to her trained eyes. She tossed the phone aside, unconcerned with whether it broke or not, and lunged forward, unable to resist the need to hug Gaara, to feel that he was really there, to see him at her door, not looking like he had been in any sort of physical fight, after what had happened…it was like a miracle. Even before her father had died, she had always felt like Kankurou and Gaara were her responsibility, and while she could be tough with both of them, the truth was that she cared about them both deeply. The fear that had filled her, knowing Gaara could be doing something horrible and thoughtless to himself or to someone else had been horrible. To see him there, unhurt, swept her fears away.

"You…don't you ever…" she pulled away, ushering him into the room and letting him sit on her bed. She took a deep breath to calm herself and sat next to him. He blinked at her, and he seemed as though he had been hurting so badly he could no longer really feel it. "You had me so worried, otouto." He blinked again, because she rarely used the nickname with him unless she was completely overwhelmed with feelings, and he knew that she was completely serious when she said she had worried.

"I'm sorry." He told her. He had not meant to upset Temari, and had not even thought she would realize anything out of the ordinary was going on. He had wanted to come here because he knew…somehow he knew she would protect him from these things that he felt he could no longer protect himself from. "I was upset."

"Did you do anything?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly as she grabbed his hand and squeezed it. It felt surprisingly good to let his sister take care of him this way, to let her make all his worries fade away. "Is there going to be any trouble?"

"No." he told her. "I just wanted to be alone."

"I thought you would…" she shook her head. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have thought that you would do anything like that. You're so mature now, I'm so proud of how you've grown." She brushed her fingers through his fringe, and he shrugged slightly.

"I wanted to pound Sasuke's face in." he admitted. "I still do, a little bit. I don't know what I want to do to Neji."

"I'm glad you didn't." she had tears in her eyes, and she smiled at him. "Hey, you know what would be good right now?" she asked, her tone soft and warm and reassuring, and he realized that to him, this was the only mother he had ever had, and she wasn't even very much older than him. But at least he felt he could depend on her in times like this.

"What?" he asked, and she stood, rummaging through a shelf before producing two mugs and a familiar tin.

"Want some cocoa?" she knew he had a secret love of chocolate, and always bought expensive cocoa to share with him when he was in an especially bad mood. It was true that it usually did help him feel better. He offered her the smallest of smiles, and she beamed brilliantly in response. "Just wait here, okay?"

She hurried down the hall, suddenly worried that Neji would go to her room, knowing somehow that Gaara was there and doing something to push him over the edge, or worse, actually hurting Gaara. Her hands were trembling, and she had to force herself to breathe deeply and calm down. She rushed into the small kitchenette, prepared the cocoa and then rushed back to her room so swiftly she was amazed she didn't slosh hot chocolate all over herself.

"Hey!" Kankurou saw her rush past his room, saw the two mugs, and knew what must be going on. "Is everything okay?"

"He's really upset, but…he didn't do anything, so it will be okay. Still, make sure Sasuke locks his door, okay? He's really pissed." She whispered, worried that Gaara would hear her. Kankurou nodded sharply and went to do as she said. She had to smile at his concern. She sometimes underestimated him, but Kankurou was a good person, and despite what a lot of people thought, he was a hard worker, and also quite smart when he applied himself. She sighed and re-entered her room, careful not to spill the cocoa at all.

"Thanks." He accepted the steaming drink, and she sat down, blowing on her own cup of cocoa.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked after a long time spent in silence, and he didn't say anything, so she assumed the answer was no.

"Neji wanted me to see." When he finally spoke, Temari had finished half of her drink, and had to take a moment to process what he was talking about. "He told me…he said he knew I wanted him, but that he would have to make me see…he wanted to make me jealous, so he set it all up."

"He…what?" Temari was dumbfounded. Was Neji out of his mind?

"It's like a game to him." Gaara drained his cup and Temari immediately took it and set it on her nightstand. "He doesn't care about anyone but himself."

"He…he used Sasuke for that?" Temari felt like _she_ was going to go beat the hell out of Neji if this was the way it was going to be. "I mean…do you think Sasuke knows?"

"Neji said he was helping him, cause he wanted something similar…or something." Gaara's tone was flat and weary. "I don't know what's true."

"Oh, because of Naruto." Temari nodded slightly, and Gaara looked at her in confusion. "Haven't you seen the way Sasuke looks at Naruto?"

"Not really." He admitted. He'd been too busy looking at Neji, honestly. "Do you think he wanted—"

"Do I think Sasuke would plot like that to get Naruto?" Temari sipped at her own cocoa, which was nearly gone now. "I talked to him earlier, and he called Neji a manipulative prick, so I think…it seems like he didn't realize what was going on. But it is weird that he would be with Neji if he cares so much about Naruto. Unless…do you think something happened between Naruto and Sasuke to make him think he'd never…" she shook her head suddenly, draining her cup and setting it next to Gaara's. "No, it doesn't really matter, does it? I mean, they're my friends, but what matters to me most is that you're happy, Gaara. The only reason it matters to me if Sasuke was really in on it was that it lets me know if I have to have him killed, too."

"Temari," he didn't often use her name at all, and she was a bit surprised by it. "I think I love him."

"Even now?" she asked, and he nodded miserably. "Well. Dammit."

"I want to hate him." He told her. "But when he told me everything…part of me was just glad he wanted me, even if it meant he did something so despicable."

"You can't go to him now." Temari advised. "If you just forgive him after that, he'll never treat you properly. If you really want to be with him, you have to make him wait, so he knows what he did was wrong."

"Okay." Gaara let his shoulders slump slightly, and Temari smiled at him softly.

"Sleep in here tonight. I'll take the floor, and you can—" she began, but he shook his head.

"You know I don't sleep." He told her. She frowned at this news. She had thought that perhaps, now that he was happier, he would get over his odd insomnia, but it seemed he still suffered from it. "You take the bed, I'll stay here, though."

"Okay then." She smiled sadly and he sat at the foot of her bed as she tucked herself in, wishing there was more she could do for her brother. Sometimes she wished her father had married his mother so that he would have always lived with them, and then maybe… "I'll leave the light on for you, it doesn't bug me." She told him, and he nodded slightly, seeming content to spend the night simply sitting. "You can borrow a book if you like."

"I might." He told her, and she fell asleep wondering what went through Gaara's mind in these long hours spent alone, as everyone around him slept soundly.

--

"And he said he was helping Sasuke the same way." Temari explained as Shikamaru considered the chess board carefully. "I assume it has to mean something about Naruto, but I don't know if Sasuke would really do something like that to get Naruto's attention."

"I don't think I'm sure I understand how Neji thought seeing that would make Gaara want to date him." Shikamaru finally moved a piece. "Maybe he's not really interested in a relationship."

"That's what I'm thinking. I _knew_ that Neji was trouble from the start. And I really don't think Sasuke knew what was going on, because he seems to really be pissed at Neji for some reason, and if he figured out what Neji was doing, I think that would piss anyone off." Temari confirmed, moving her own piece, smiling triumphantly.

"Always too quick." Shikamaru shook his head and moved into check. She scowled at the board, only now seeing her mistake. "Things are sometimes deeper than they seem, that's true. Does Gaara still want to flay Sasuke, or is it safe for me to forget my keys again?"

"I don't know. He's been…well, not sleeping, he doesn't ever really…I mean, maybe he dozes a little when I don't know…but he's been spending the night with me for a few days now, ever since it happened. I made Kankurou get some clothes. I would have…but I just…I knew if I saw him, I would try to claw his eyes out." Temari sighed heavily. "And it seems Gaara still cares about him despite everything."

"Aren't we supposed to forgive flaws like that?" Shikamaru cleared the board and helped Temari put the pieces away. "Isn't that what all that stuff is supposed to be about, just kind of…not really caring about the bad stuff, and seeing all the good things and everything. Neji did something incredibly stupid, that's true, but he _did_ do it to try and win Gaara over."

"If you say that it was romantic, I will have to castrate you." Temari shook her head. "My brother can't even look at him anymore, and he can't live like this forever! We'll have to figure something out, and if he can't reconcile with Neji soon, it's time to visit the housing office and request a room change. I almost…I want him to be able to make friends and everything, but I want him to be able to live in a single. I don't want to go through anything like this again, and I don't want him to have to go through it, either."

"There's no way there are open singles in the middle of October." Shikamaru told her. "Really too soon for dropouts, and as soon as people smell someone starting to weaken, they run to the housing office to reserve their room. It's pretty cutthroat."

"I know…I thought I'd give him my room and look for an open double." She explained, and Shikamaru looked at her in surprise.

"Is it really that important to you, you'd give him your room?" he asked, and she nodded, resolved. He tilted his head at her and then smiled, shaking it slightly.

"You're so tough most of the time, it's hard to see that you're something different from all that." He turned to put the box away, and she grabbed his hand. He looked up at her in slight confusion, but before he could ask what was the matter, her mouth was on his, hungry and full of need. He was so surprised he almost pulled back, but as his hand moved to her face, resting gently on her cheek, she felt a calming warmth seep into her.

"I meant to do that for a while now." She told him, sounding business-like again almost as soon as she pulled away. He blinked at her like he had never seen anything like her before. "I just think that we could really—"

"Yeah." He dropped the chess set, and kissed her again, the pieces rolling over the floor as they concentrated on each other, and for once, Temari thought that she might actually do something for herself.

Just then, the door opened, and they looked up in surprise to see Gaara, his lip twitching slightly at the sight of someone kissing his sister. His hands slowly curled into fists, and Shikamaru gulped.

"Is he…going to kill me?" he whispered, and Temari laughed nervously.

This was sure to be troublesome.

--

To be continued…


	8. Chapter 8

Everything in Between

Everything in Between

Chapter 8

--

"What are you doing?" Gaara's voice was strained, and Temari cleared her throat, stepping away from the reasonably concerned young man next to her.

"Nothing." She told him. "How was class?"

"Are you two…dating?" he was not that easily deterred.

"No." Shikamaru answered just as Temari lifted her chin and said "Yes." She turned to the young man next to her and scowled.

"What do you mean, no?" she hissed, and he shrugged.

"You didn't ask me anything, you just started kissing me." He pointed out. "It's not like we established kissing guidelines."

"Okay, fine, I think we should date." She told him, hands on her hips, face daring him to argue with her. "I really like you. There, happy?"

"I don't have time for a girlfriend, sorry." Shikamaru told her, and fled the room before Gaara or Temari could hurt him.

"What…what the hell?" she turned to Gaara, aghast. "He kissed me back!"

"I don't like him." Gaara replied. "This is better."

"You…you can be so selfish!" Temari rushed past him and fled. Gaara blinked at her passing, and considered what he was supposed to do here. He thought probably he was meant to chase after her, and possibly apologize for not thinking she should date Shikamaru. But he really didn't think she should, and clearly neither did Shikamaru, so he didn't see what the big deal was. She just wanted everyone to do what she said, so she was angry.

_I wonder if I should go hurt Shikamaru now._ He considered this, but realized Shikamaru was probably in his room, with Sasuke, and the temptation to bludgeon the Uchiha was still very great. He also suspected they were still locking their door, and now that Gaara had seen Shikamaru kiss his sister, they would probably be doubly sure to keep him out. He decided instead to see what Kankurou thought of all this, and went into the room next to Temari's without knocking.

"Hello, Gaara." Sai greeted him from his desk, where he seemed to be working on some picture on his computer.

"Hey, what's up?" Kankurou asked, and Gaara closed the door, not really wanting to spread tales of his sister's romantic mishaps through the entire dormitory.

"Shikamaru and Temari were kissing, and she wanted him to be her boyfriend." Gaara explained, and Kankurou immediately started laughing, as he had been teasing Temari about spending a lot of time with the lazy youth for some time, now. "But he told her no."

"Did you kick his ass?" Kankurou asked eagerly, and Sai turned from his computer, scribbling something in a notepad. He was very interested in all types of social interactions, and he found that having Kankurou for a roommate was an excellent source of information.

"He escaped." Gaara explained. "I did want to punch him."

"Let's go kick his ass, then!" Kankurou strode to the door, beckoning for Gaara to follow him. They headed down the hall, but as if he had expected this, Neji came out of his room just as they were passing the door.

"Gaara," he reached out to grab the other man's arm. "We need to talk."

"Fuck off." Kankurou knew enough of what had happened to wish Neji serious ill-will. Temari had forced him to swear not to kill Neji or do anything horrible, but he was pretty sure in this case it wasn't a big deal. He came around Gaara, pulled back, and punched Neji right in the face.

"Neji," Gaara could not stop the concern that welled in him as his former roommate crumpled against the wall, but Neji was not as badly hurt as he originally suspected. His face took on a threatening aspect, and he lunged at Kankurou, his fist flying into the other man's gut, knocking the wind out of him. "Don't!" Gaara growled, but they didn't seem to be listening to him. Kankurou coughed and grabbed Neji's shoulders, seeming momentarily helpless until he rammed his knee into Neji's crotch, causing the taller man to wince and stumble away. "You both stop!" Gaara repeated, but Neji and Kankurou clashed again, tripping and falling to the ground, both of them trying desperately to gain the upper hand. Kankurou and Neji kept trying to punch and block each other, and only some hits were getting through on each side. Gaara had a momentary feeling of helplessness when he realized he could just break the fight up. He was very strong. He could at least put himself between them, and while he didn't know what Neji would do, Kankurou certainly wouldn't hit him. He reached down, pulling Kankurou away, but somehow, the sight of Neji snarling with anger, his brow split and his eye already bruising, fueled Gaara's fighting spirit, and he pounced on the other man, cursing and punching him repeatedly, enjoying the grunts of pain, the give of flesh under his knuckles, and then—

"What the _hell_ is going on!?" Temari had come back, apparently, and she was not happy to see that they were all three fighting in the middle of the hall. Gaara couldn't stop himself, despite the feel of her cool hand on his arm, trying to pull him away.

"Is _this_ funny? Is it?" he snarled through his teeth as he continued to attack Neji, who he started to notice, was not fighting back, only attempting to block his hits. "Fucking game…you never fucking cared!"

"I said _stop it_!" Temari cursed. "Kankurou, help me with him!" she beckoned, and her older brother, still smarting from his own hits, half-heartedly attempted to pull Gaara away. He shook them off, but the distraction was enough for Neji, bloody and bruised, but still alert, to grab both his arms at the elbow, swiftly rolling so that he was on top.

"I want you to _listen_." Neji told him, his voice agitated, his face bleeding from several spots, bruises already forming from the strikes he had refused to return. "You won't answer my calls, you won't let me see you, but now…now you'll listen."

"You get off him!" Temari commanded, and he summarily ignored her.

"I know it's not a game. I know that, but I can't help myself sometimes." He shook his head, blood trickling down from the split in his right cheek. "And I fucked everything up, so I'm sorry, okay? I just wanted you to know…I did care. I still do. I want you with me, and if I can't be with you, I want…at least for us to still live together. I just…" he leaned down then, and his lips claimed Gaara's. The kiss was desperate, but still soft, tasting of blood and Neji, and making Gaara's head spin.

"I said off!" Temari and Kankurou pulled Neji free, and Gaara got to his feet as Neji shook off their restraining grips. Gaara narrowed his eyes and stalked forward. Temari wondered if he was going to try to punch Neji again, which she admittedly felt he deserved for forcing himself on Gaara like that.

But as they watched, Gaara pushed Neji against the wall and kissed him so thoroughly they both felt like it was inappropriate to watch.

"Why do I even try?" Temari threw up her hands. "Ridiculous."

"Geez…what the hell?" Kankurou snorted, and they both walked away, leaving the pair kissing in the hall with a level of passion that had built up ever since they met, intensifying during their time apart, and finally being released. After a time, Gaara pulled back slightly, licking the blood off his lip.

"If you ever do something like that again, I will be very angry." Gaara told him, and Neji didn't need him to elaborate. He suspected he needed stitches. His body ached from some of the hits he had received, but his whole face felt like it had been smashed repeatedly.

"Sorry." Neji told him, and Gaara kissed him again, maneuvering them both toward their room, while Neji gauged how good this felt against how much the splits and bruises on his face hurt.

Bandages could wait.

--

"So they're dating now?" Naruto asked, and Kiba nodded, helping him pick out supplies for their upcoming Halloween party. "That's cool, I guess. But why does Neji look like someone kicked the crap out of him?"

"Well, at first, Kankurou and Gaara were beating him up, I heard." Kiba explained, considering some fake spider web before putting two bags in their cart. "Like right outside our room, actually, 'cause you know Gaara'd been staying with Temari, and Neji wanted to try and talk to him, but he was still really pissed."

"What? Why was Gaara living with Temari?" Naruto asked, feeling completely out of the loop. No one had said anything about this to him! He'd spent time with Gaara, and even he hadn't said he was fighting with Neji. "What did they fight about?"

"Well, Gaara caught Sasuke and—" Kiba paused, his face draining of blood and coughed, laughing. "Nothing, it was just one of those things, you know."

"No, what were you saying before?" Naruto narrowed his eyes at Kiba, who pretended great interest in a rubber bat.

"This is a pretty good price. We could hang it from the pipes, right?" Kiba dangled the bat and forced a laugh, as though it were extremely entertaining. "This would be cool, don't you think? Or maybe one of those spiders that like falls when you're close to it! That'd scare the crap out of the girls."

"Kiba," Naruto stopped the cart and crossed his arms. "What does Sasuke have to do with Gaara and Neji having a fight?"

"He was just…you know, interfering." Kiba managed, putting the bat back and examining a package of white face paint as though memorizing the ingredient list.

"How?" Naruto prompted. "I didn't think Sasuke even got along with Neji, and I know he doesn't get along with Gaara, although I have no idea why."

"Well," Kiba was sorely tempted, but he didn't think that this would end well, so he concentrated on the make-up. "I don't think it matters anymore."

"Kiba," Naruto raised his eyebrows. "Since when won't you tell me things like this? What's the big deal?"

"Well…I just don't think you need to know. It's their own business, really." Kiba tried to sound as diplomatic as possible. Unfortunately, Naruto started laughing at the thought of Kiba respecting other people's privacy.

"Seriously, just tell me." He insisted, and Kiba hesitated slightly. "What could it possibly be that you don't want to tell me? Does anyone else know?"

"Uh…well, pretty much everyone." Kiba admitted. He was pretty sure even Sakura knew, and Ino just thought that it made Sasuke more appealing than ever…somehow.

"Then why can't I know? What, were they like, planning my surprise party and then they broke a bunch of my shit?" Naruto guessed wildly. "I don't see why I can't know."

"Well…if I tell you, promise you won't get pissed off, okay." Kiba hesitated, and Naruto jumped on his crumbling defenses at once.

"Fine, I swear, though I can't see what it has to do with me." He was really eager to know now, since it seemed that Kiba thought the information would affect him personally.

"Okay, so a while ago, Lee and Kankurou walked in on Neji and Sasuke…doing things." Kiba explained. "And then when we were at the movie, Gaara caught them in the bathroom, and he got upset."

"Doing things?" Naruto felt his heart flutter, suspecting he might know what sort of things Kiba meant, but not wanting to believe his own thoughts. "What do you mean?"

"They were having sex, okay?" Kiba whispered, looking around to see if anyone could hear, not surprised to see the blood drain from Naruto's face. "And then Gaara got like way pissed because he was already into Neji, I guess, and Neji was into _him, _but he thought he needed to like…make him act, or whatever, so he thought he'd make him jealous. And I heard he _planned_ it, like he wanted Gaara to see them. So you can guess how pissed Gaara would be."

"Y—yeah." Naruto forced a nervous laugh. "Amazing he forgave Neji after that." Kiba tossed some decorations into the cart, and Naruto forced another laugh. "How long ago did you say this started…like, when Kankurou walked in on them?"

"It was a couple weeks ago. Remember the day you first went back to work?" Kiba asked, relieved that Naruto seemed surprised, but not really upset. He heard the cart stop again, and Naruto seemed frozen, as if he had suddenly remembered something important. "What? Forget your wallet?"

"N—no." Naruto shook his head and forced another laugh. "I just don't know why you thought I'd be upset."

"Well, I didn't want to interfere if like…if things were going on between Sasuke and you." Kiba coughed to cover his embarrassment. "I mean, I know you like Sakura all right, but after the accident, you guys were really close, and then suddenly you weren't talking at all, and everyone thought…well, apparently there's speculation over whether Sasuke knew it was a set-up." He laughed, as if to dismiss this theory. "Like, he wanted to make _you_ see, is what some people were thinking, and I didn't know, so I didn't want to mess things up."

"I'm straight." Naruto answered gruffly. "I don't care who Sasuke sleeps with."

"You know, no one would care if you did like him." Kiba shrugged and put another decoration in the cart. "Except Ino, since she's still convinced she can make him like girls. Honestly, he's totally obsessed with you, it's amazing Neji was able to get him to stop talking about you long enough to put it in him."

"Neji was on top? I always thought—" Naruto cut himself off with a violent shake of the head. "Look, what do you know about how Sasuke feels? What do I know? And why should I even think about doing something like that?"

"I just want you to be happy, man." Kiba's words caused Naruto to sink into thought, just as they saw Chouji approach with the food.

_The day I went back to work…that was the day he kissed me. Did he let Neji fuck him before that, or after? Did he mean anything he said to me? Or did he really want to make me jealous?_

_Am I jealous?_

Naruto wasn't sure, but he knew there was a burning sensation in his chest, and he also knew, for some inexplicable reason, he wanted to beat the crap out of Neji.

--

"He's still in class." Shikamaru immediately told the blonde girl at his door. She smiled and pushed past him with a plate of onigiri. "Make yourself at home." He sighed and closed the door. Now that Gaara was dating Neji, he didn't really bother with locking the door, because he was much more concerned about how he was kissing than who had kissed his sister once. Temari still didn't want to talk to him, but in his own defense, Shikamaru didn't feel it was fair of her to just expect him to drop the rest of his life and have a relationship with her, which would probably be more tedious and demanding than it was rewarding. He did like playing chess with her, though. She had been getting kind of good, even.

"I wanted to be here when he got back." Ino explained. "I made these myself."

"Can I have one?" he asked, and she gave him a look that clearly indicated he must be out of his mind to ask such a thing of her. "You know, he's gay."

"I know he sleeps with men." She told him pointedly. "But that doesn't mean he won't _also_ date women. A lot of people think it has to be one or the other, but there can be both! It doesn't bother me that he likes both."

"That you _want_ him to like both." Shikamaru corrected, and she glared at him before breaking into a smile and flashing him the victory sign.

"You can get anything if you work hard enough!" she told him. "That's what I believe."

"Clearly my lack of wanting to work makes most things in life unattainable." He told her in a droll tone and she stuck her tongue out.

"If you found something you really cared about, you'd work hard for it." She told him. "Someday, you'll fall in love, too, Shikamaru, and you'll see what I mean."

"You barely know anything about him." Shikamaru told her, closing the book he'd been reading. "Honestly, when's his birthday?"

"Mmmm…January?" she guessed.

"Well…I don't know, either. I'm just making a point." He told her, and she laughed.

"He just likes his privacy. I know all kinds of things about Sasuke." Ino told him. "He's in soccer."

"What's his major?" Shikamaru returned with a question he actually knew the answer to, and she shrugged slightly.

"Chemistry?" she guessed, and Shikamaru laughed.

"Physics." He corrected, and she pumped her fist as though she had been right. "They're not the same." He pointed out the obvious.

"I know _that._" She told him, her back stiff. "I'm taking premed classes, you don't have to explain the sciences to me, _philosophy_ student."

"Look, you know more about me!" Shikamaru pointed out, and she giggled.

"Are you jealous, Shikamaru?" she guessed, and he scowled, returning all his attention to his book. "Aw, you're so cute when you pout."

"Shut up." He told her. "I don't have to let you stay in here."

"But you will." She told him. "You like me."

"I think you're annoying." He corrected, and she laughed at him again. "What?"

"See that, you're already trying a little harder." She teased, and he scowled, returning to his book and trying to pretend she wasn't in the room. It wasn't that long before Sasuke returned from class, took one look at the girl on his bed and pointed over his back out the door.

"Get out." He told her.

"I made you these—" she rushed toward him, thrusting the plate forward. He grabbed the plate, threw it into the hall, and ushered her out.

"I said out." He slammed the door shut, only to find Shikamaru scowling at him. "What?"

"That was mean." Shikamaru told him. "You could have at least taken the onigiri."

"Why, you hungry?" he rolled his eyes. "She's crazy. She probably put her hair or something in there to try and put me under a love spell. Did you tell her I'm gay yet?"

"Yep." He confirmed, sighing and returning his attention to his book, still feeling slightly annoyed at the way Sasuke treated Ino. "She didn't seem to get the point."

"Well…at least Sakura's stopped following me." Sasuke sighed and sat on his bed, beginning to change his clothes.

"Finally get to play soccer again?" Shikamaru asked as Sasuke pulled his gear on.

"Yep." Sasuke flexed his healed ankle, wrapped it just in case, and then pulled on his socks and the shoes he wore for soccer.

"That's cool." Shikamaru glanced up, looking for a reaction. "Will Naruto be there, too?"

"Of course." Sasuke grumbled. "As long as he feels up to it."

"Have you talked to him lately?" Shikamaru tried again, causing Sasuke to redden, grab his bag, and storm out of the room in a huff.

"Guess that's still not going quite as well as he'd like." Shikamaru turned a page in his text and rejoiced in his choice not to get romantically involved with anyone during his time at college. It was clearly way too much trouble.

--

To be continued…


	9. Chapter 9

Everything in Between

Everything in Between

Chapter 9

--

"Welcome to the library, Sakura." The pink-haired girl did a double take, but when she saw the front desk was being manned by Sai, the formal greeting seemed much less strange. "Is there anything I can help you find?"

"I didn't know you worked here, Sai." She looked around. "How is it? I'm working in the café this year, but I'm kind of weighing my options for next year. I don't know if I can handle having Lee as a coworker anymore, much less Naruto."

"Lee and Naruto both work with you?" Sai smiled. "That must be very nice, since they both want to have sex with you, I am sure they are always making things easier for you to try and win your favor. Shino and Tenten also work with me at times, but neither of them wants to have sex with me, as far as I can tell, since they make me do the normal amounts of work." Sakura flushed, and she almost stormed the counter to smack him, but it was a wide counter, and it wasn't as though he meant to say things that were completely indicative of his lack of socialization. Honestly, in its own way, it had a charm to it. That was how Sai talked, kind of like how Hinata was always ultra-polite, and even still used suffixes with all of the people they knew, except for Neji. Or like how Kiba blurted out idiotic things and cursed all the time. Or how Sasuke purposefully said the cruelest thing he could think of…at least Sai didn't know when things he was saying were bad.

"Sai…you really shouldn't just talk about it like that." She told him instead, once taking a breath to remind herself of these things. "You don't just talk about who has a crush on who like everyone knows. Sometimes it's a secret, and if you tell, it can make a lot of people upset."

"Is this like how Gaara punched Neji when he find out Neji had sex with Sasuke, even though he also wanted to have sex with Gaara?" Sai guessed, and Sakura bit back the painful reaction to the reminder of her completely oblivious failure to choose someone who she had any possibility of returning her feelings to chase after. She regretted now having completely ignored Naruto, because at this point, she knew he was basically off limits as well. Hinata had a massive crush on him, and she really couldn't go around her friend like that, but there was also speculation among the friends that Sasuke _also_ carried a torch for the cheerful blonde. How ironic.

"Kinda, yeah." She shook her head, not wanting to talk about that any more than she possibly had to. "I heard that the boys are throwing a big Halloween party on Friday. Are you going to go to that?" she asked him, quickly changing the subject to something much less painful.

"Kankurou told me that I have to go to at least two parties a month or I am not a very good college student." Sai told her, and she couldn't help but laugh at the rule. "I have already gone to two this month. I try to find alternate weekends so that I do not fall behind in my work."

"Well, if you have time, you really should come." Sakura smiled. "Halloween parties are the best. You get to wear a costume, and then you sit there trying to figure out who everyone else is and watch scary movies and things like that. Did your parents ever let you dress up for Halloween?"

"No, they said that it was sinful." Sai frowned. "However, I cannot imagine you doing anything especially sinful. You are a very nice girl, Sakura. I think that if I were to take you home, my parents would approve, and then we could be married and have children, but only after you had found a comfortable position at a respectable hospital. You are still wanting to be a doctor?"

"Um…yeah." Sakura flushed brilliantly at the amount of thought he seemed to have put into that comment. It was always hard to tell with Sai, since he spoke in such a stream-of-conscious style that you were never sure if he had spent a long time thinking about these things, or was only just thinking aloud about a hypothetical situation. "Yeah, I want to be a doctor. How's your art coming?"

"Graphic design." He corrected gently. "I am not a fine art student. Mother says that they are stinking hobos who have only come to school to suck dry the endowment while contributing nothing original to the world, and then after four years of free food and board, returning to their lifestyles on the street."

"Your mom sounds…kind of scary, honestly." Sakura decided that there wasn't much reason to hold back with Sai, since he never seemed to think he had to hold back with anyone, including her. "What about your dad?"

"Father says to listen to mother." Sai told her, and she giggled.

"Anyway, I should go, I'm supposed to find a couple books for a report I'm doing in biology." She stepped toward the stairs but stopped again. "But really, it would be a lot of fun if you came to the Halloween party. I can help you with a costume, if you want."

"That is very helpful of you." Sai nodded. "I will consider it once I have a better idea of the amount of homework I have to finish this weekend."

"Alright, just don't wait until Friday afternoon unless you want a really crappy costume." She told him, waving and turning onto the stairs. One of the best things about talking to Sai was that he honestly had no expectations that she could perceive, and it was very nice to know that he appreciated everything she said to him, and everything she did. It was a nice relief after her hormones had put her in the extremely ridiculous position of running around, bending over backwards for a completely unappreciative, surly Sasuke. She wondered what he would be like if he got together with Naruto, like Ino was concerned about. She saw Naruto as her number one love rival, and Sakura just didn't have it in her to tell the girl to cop a clue to the fact that Sasuke was gay. That was what he had told her the day he visited the café, clearly in a fit of exasperated rage. Or perhaps something had happened back there with Naruto…perhaps Naruto had rejected him? It seemed possible. Now that everyone was whispering about it, it seemed obvious that Sasuke was either in love or seriously obsessed with Naruto, and if he had been rejected, the elevated level of cruelty she had experienced that day would have been almost…understandable. Of course, it took time to put these pieces together, since the big news that day had been Sasuke and Neji, courtesy of Kankurou's lock-picking skills. Apparently Lee had been a witness as well, probably trying to get in to challenge Sasuke to a duel or something. Ever since then, he seemed more reserved than usual, but he was still always very kind to Sakura, if not overly accommodating.

_Maybe I should give him a chance. He really does seem to care about me…it's just, I really don't think I see him that way at all. He's funny, but his personality is just…I think if I dated him I would have to keep him on tranquilizers. I can't handle that much energy all the time. And besides that…what would we talk about? We don't really have a lot in common besides being in the same group of friends._

Still, it was something worth thinking over. But she wasn't in school just to go on casual dates with any guy that asked her out. She had to concentrate, and maybe for the rest of the year she wouldn't get distracted by any more secretly gay men. She had to admit, now that she was basically over Sasuke, she got a lot more homework done.

_I shouldn't be thinking about men at all. I should only be thinking about what I need to do. Everything in between work and my friends is too much, I can't add a boyfriend into that…imagine if I was dating someone. That'd be a lot more work than I was putting in just _trying_ to get Sasuke's attention. Honestly, I'm glad he turned me down._

_Well, not really…but yeah._

--

"I am very sorry about all of this." Hinata had insisted that Temari come over for tea so that she could apologize for everything Neji had done. Actually, she had insisted that Kankurou also come, but he had explained to Temari that he needed all the free time he had to get his "bitching costume" ready for the party on Friday. Temari did not find this to be an acceptable excuse, but since she knew that dragging Kankurou to a tea party would only end in tears—probably Hinata's tears—she had told Hinata he was loaded down with homework and wanted to get everything finished before the weekend. That must be partially true, she told herself. He had to have homework, and eventually, he'd have to do it. He'd never gotten anything lower than a B in any of his classes that Temari could remember. Therefore, he either studied in secret, or he was paying off every teacher he had ever had.

Temari made a mental note to check their funds after this for any…anomalies.

"I've told you, it really isn't your responsibility to apologize for what he's done. He should be doing that." Temari assured her. "However, since Gaara immediately let him off the hook, I think that will never happen."

"It is very sweet. I have never seen Neji so completely besotted with anyone before." Hinata assured her. "He was very popular in high school, as I said, and he has had many many boyfriends, so you can rest assured that he knows what he is doing. Deep down, I know that he sees that something that might have been an effective way back then of getting the attention of someone he wanted a casual relationship with is simply not acceptable for someone he genuinely cares about. I apologize, and am ashamed to say that I am familiar with his various strategies and tricks, if only through hearsay. Truly, I should have seen the signs and warned you that he did not know how to approach a _serious_ relationship so that you might have been prepared for such a dishonorable tactic."

"So…he's never had a serious boyfriend?" she asked, and Hinata nodded as she sipped her tea. "But you said he's had…a lot of different boyfriends? What do you mean?"

"Well, Neji is a distant sort, you may have noticed, much like your own brother." Hinata explained. "He apparently likes to have…er, intercourse," Temari almost laughed out loud at the clear struggle on Hinata's face to find a way to speak about this politely, "but he does not like to share his thoughts and feelings with others. I have seen how he treated his previous boyfriends in high school, and it was quite shameful. I would usually make them cookies or try to do something like that to make them less sad about the fact that no matter how much they opened up to Neji and tried to become closer to him, he had an invisible boundary none of them could cross. In addition, I believe his longest previous relationship was somewhere around two weeks…possibly one month. To Neji, it seemed that he understood a boyfriend to be a way that you could have someone who you would not have to work hard to seduce; someone that would…welcome you at any time. Once they began to want something from him besides the…er…activities, he would typically move on to someone else. Sometimes he would not even tell them. He would simply be sleeping with another man, and they would be left to put the pieces together for themselves when they saw him with someone else. Because of his good looks, popularity and mystique, this did not seem to discourage any of his prospective boyfriends. They were each sure that they would be the one to finally make him fall in love, I think. I am not sure that Neji actually led any of them to believe he cared about more than…the physicality, but he would often stage stunts like what happened with Sasuke when he had his eye on someone. Usually it was simple enough, and I think he liked the challenge, so he would always make up elaborate schemes…I think he was not aware that what he was doing was hurting people, or he simply did not care. He did get in a few physical fights, but everyone mostly steered clear of him because he was a fencing champion and I think they believed he would actually stab them. Which he never would."

"Oh." Temari sipped her tea, which was now lukewarm. She didn't know if Hinata was trying to make her accept Neji, or if she was trying to make Temari more wary of him than ever. Certainly the second approach was not as likely, but that was how she was feeling. "He fenced?" she picked up the piece of information that made her the least likely to run across the hall and throw Neji out the window to keep him away from her poor, innocent baby brother.

"Hopefully he still will." She smiled with pride. "I know he enjoyed it. He told me it calmed him quite a bit, which I think was good for him. I believe the fencing team at this school would be quite lucky to have him. They have tryouts next month, and I am positive he will be one of their best members."

"That's…nice." Temari had to push down a very satisfying vision of her running Neji through with his own foil. "Do you have any idea how many boyfriends he had?" she asked, realizing that it was something Gaara might ask. The way Hinata talked, it had to be at least ten, and she could imagine that would upset him. It would upset her if Shikamaru…well, no use thinking about that. Maybe once he had his studies under control…

"I really couldn't say." Hinata admitted. "He dated every boy who…you know, would do that sort of thing in our school, and in other schools as well. There are not always a lot of gay men to choose from, and he ran through them quickly. He actually dated a lot of other fencers as well. At least…fifty, maybe sixty or seventy? Possibly more. I do not even know if Neji knows."

"How…did he even find that many?" Temari was dumbstruck. She was clearly missing a large part of the subculture if there were really that many gay men at a typical school. Although, she supposed that she hadn't been _looking_ for them, and Hinata did say he went to other schools, as well. "Did he…sleep with all of them?"

"As far as I knew, that was how he qualified a boyfriend." Hinata nodded. "Someone he slept with. Obviously, I was not checking, but he really had no reason to exaggerate."

"If I was him, I'd try to make it seem like the number was _way_ less than that." Temari felt dizzy, and she set down her tea. "I just…I mean, this is going to seem really impudent to just ask you, because I know it doesn't seem like my business, but I can't have something horrible happen to Gaara. I think you understand how much he means to me."

"Of course." Hinata nodded. "You may ask whatever you like."

"Did he…I mean, does he use condoms and everything?" Temari felt herself flush deeply. "I just mean…because that many people…he could have all kinds of…"

"Oh!" Hinata flushed as well. "I know that he always carries them, so I can only assume he uses them. I have never discussed it with him in depth. However, I do know that he is tested regularly. He one time commented on it being 'annoying, but necessary.' He is impulsive, but not stupid. He knows what it means to do…that."

"Well…I think I'll have to talk to him to make sure. I don't want him giving Gaara an incurable disease." Temari grumbled, then remembered herself. "No offense."

"None taken." Hinata was still blushing, but she offered Temari a cookie to cover her discomfort. "This is exactly why I asked you to come. I wanted to make sure that we could all feel comfortable supporting Neji and Gaara, despite the…rocky beginning. I really never have seen him act toward anyone the way he acts around Gaara. He is kinder to me than most other people, and I think he sees me as a sister, since we grew up close to each other. Our fathers were twin brothers, you see, and when Neji's father died, my father took a deep interest in Neji, who was his brother's only child. Because I am used to his manner, I am able to see how he treats Gaara, and I think he may actually love your brother. I have no idea how he will handle the relationship, because he has never had one he cares about before, but I have hopes that they will be good for each other. I think that your brother is a very good person, despite any trouble he has gotten into in the past." Temari's eyes widened at that, and she wondered how much Hinata knew about Gaara by way of Neji, and was amazed that Gaara had shared so much information with the other boy. Getting Gaara to talk about himself could be like trying to draw blood from a stone, but Neji seemed to already know a lot, and they had been living together less than two months.

"I wish I could say the same, but I don't know much about your cousin, and what I do know, I honestly don't like very much." Temari replied candidly. Hinata did not seem surprised by this at all. "I assume Neji's told you something of Gaara's past?" she nodded, and Temari continued. "You must see that Gaara has a hard time controlling his reactions. Neji saw this for himself when Gaara pummeled him bloody and then started making out with him right in the hall. Honestly, he represses his emotions so often, and sometimes they burst free, and they can be dangerous. I'm still amazed that no one was hurt when he walked in on Neji and Sasuke. And knowing that Neji knew all about Gaara…I thought he just did that without realizing what could happen, but if he has a good idea of the things that Gaara has done in the past, I'm flabbergasted by the suicidal idiocy that made him do that. And I know everyone is speculating about whether or not Sasuke was in on the little 'scheme' Neji came up with, but I have serious doubts that he was, and even if he had any clue, I doubt Neji mentioned the possibility of serious injury. It was completely irresponsible of him! How could he put himself, Sasuke, and Gaara at risk like that? You say that he treats Gaara well, but all I know of how he treats Gaara tells me he is impulsive and selfish, with no thought for consequences. How am I supposed to trust my brother to his care? Gaara has never had any sort of relationship before, with a man or a woman. I don't approve of Neji, and I think that the only reason Gaara is with him now is his naiveté when it comes to dating. I mean, he slept with another man to get Gaara to want him. What kind of behavior is that? If he thinks Gaara isn't paying enough attention to him will he sleep with someone else? I would never be able to date someone who did that to me."

"You don't have to date Neji." Hinata seemed rather calm despite the reaming out she was receiving. "Gaara is the one that wants to date him. I understand that you have reason to worry, but I am here to tell you that Neji will be good to him. He is a hard man to reach, but once you have his affection, he will be loyal to you forever. I trust Neji despite the way he has treated others because he has never done anything to hurt me, and I know he never will. Gaara means at least as much to him as that, I can see that plainly. If you would, please observe them together whenever you get the chance, whether it be at meals, while they are studying, or at a party. I think that you will see the way that they interact…it is something so sweet, it brings tears to my eyes to see my Neji act that way with someone. I did not know he had it in him. I know you don't know him as well, but you will see. I can see the way that Gaara adores him, and I know you will see that as well. I think if you see how much they care about each other, even if you cannot bring yourself to like or trust Neji, you will be loathe to tear them apart, since your brother is so happy. I think that if you see that, you will be able to support them, despite your misgivings."

"Okay," Temari heaved a sigh. She had been avoiding them since the fight in the hall because it pained her to see her brother being led astray by Neji, but maybe they really could be good for each other. She would have to see. "But I swear, if he ever hurts Gaara again, I will be the one to tackle him in the hall, and I don't give a shit what he says. I can't let him hurt Gaara."

"Temari, you will be a very good mother someday." Hinata smiled and gave her another cookie. Temari wanted to dislike Hinata, who loved Neji like a brother, but she couldn't help liking the other girl. They had a lot in common, that was for sure. She hoped she wasn't forced to kill Neji and ruin all that.

--

Sasuke was having a horrible day. He'd missed half his first class sleeping in, and gotten a C on a test, which was completely unacceptable, as far as he was concerned. He felt like there should be a special grade curve for people who were having extremely frustrating love lives…or really, no love life at all. Also, he had to deal with soccer practice again today, which was worse than usual, since Ino was in the stands being generally embarrassing. Shikamaru had probably told her the schedule and location of practice to get back at him for throwing out her food, which was aggravating. To top it all, he had just remembered he had to do a lab report by tomorrow, and he was almost positive he had thrown away all the notes he had taken for the experiment the report was on, and he disliked everyone in his class. He was contemplating skipping his lab to throw himself off the bell tower, solving all his problems.

Despite his secret excitement to have a reason to see Naruto at least twice a week whether the blonde liked it or not, even during soccer practice, he was treated as though he didn't exist. He tried picking fights, and he could _see_ that Naruto wanted to hit him, but he was somehow able to quell the urge ever time. What was it going to take? He kept thinking maybe he _should_ tell Naruto about the whole thing with Neji. He had thought it was probably the worst possible way to win someone over when he realized what Neji was up to, but it had actually worked…somehow. He had heard there had been a very violent confrontation in the hall, the marks of which Neji and Kankurou both sported now, one week later, though Neji clearly got the worst of it. He had a spectacular black eye that was just starting to fade, as well as various splits and bruises on his face, and Sasuke suspected probably on his body as well, from the stiff way he had walked for a few days afterwards. He had overheard Kiba speculating that it wasn't the _fight_ that had given Neji a hard time walking, but he seriously doubted that Gaara, who he knew had at least never had a relationship, and therefore was probably a virgin, had jumped right in bed with Neji. Also, Neji had seemed very adamant about being a top, which hadn't bothered Sasuke at all, but it wasn't something he was going to stoop to gossiping about. He was now completely without sex just as suddenly as he had gotten some in the first place, and he had no prospects of any action at all, since his attentions were focused on a stubbornly straight man who ignored his existence. He couldn't help being interested in it, since he could feel the desperation sinking in, but he would _not_ stand in the hallway with Ino and Kiba giggling and guessing how many times Gaara and Neji had done it, if they even had. Kiba insisted they could hear it through the wall, since they were right next door, but Sasuke still doubted all of this.

Sadly, he wasn't really concentrating on anything he was working on lately. His mind only wanted to focus on Naruto, and his grades would suffer if he did not get back on track. Also, he was horrible at soccer when he was trying to see if Naruto was looking at him, or staring at the other boy the entire practice and completely missing every shot he took, not receiving passes, or passing to the other team. If he kept this up, he would be kicked off the team, and then he would have _no_ excuse to see Naruto bi-weekly, unless he wanted to sit in the stands like lovesick Ino, the very thought of which made him want to be ill. The coach was clearly concerned, and had already asked if anything was wrong, but Sasuke was not about to delve into his personal life with that weirdo. He wondered if this was the way that Lee felt about Sakura, and if so, how was he still so good at soccer? It defied logic. He wasn't the first person in the history of the world to have his heart crushed by the cruel heel of fate, but he seriously doubted that everyone else this had happened to became so completely useless. He had shoved his emotions to one side most of his life. Why couldn't he do it now?

When practice ended, he lingered, trying to figure out how he could leave without Ino seeing him and accompanying him home, realizing that he wished he could accompany Naruto home, and feeling vaguely guilty that he was hurting someone else this way. But honestly, he'd made it pretty clear he was not interested in Ino, or any other girl once his sexuality was called into question, yet she never seemed to get the point or become the slightest bit discouraged.

"Hey," Naruto's voice had been silent around him for two and a half weeks at this point, so he almost didn't recognize it at first. He turned, unable to keep the shock off his face. "Haven't talked to you in a while." He sounded uncharacteristically gruff, and Sasuke assumed he was trying to make it clear he was still not interested.

_Yeah, I got the point when you looked at me like I'd done something unimaginable._

"Well, a lot's been going on." Sasuke could feel his heartbeat speeding up, and realized that probably the reason his fan girls acted so idiotic all the time was lack of oxygen, since he currently had to use all his concentration to breathe with Naruto standing next to him. He struggled not to stare at the way his shirt was clinging to his sweaty chest and felt his monumental effort warranted a trophy of some sort, but doubted Naruto would even appreciate the fact that he was behaving so well.

_What's wrong with me? I could talk to him before. He'll think I have a concussion. Maybe I should pretend that I do so he won't think I'm an idiot._

"Yeah, yeah." Naruto coughed, glanced at him with brilliant blue eyes and shuffled slightly. "Well, Kiba and Chouji and I, we're having a Halloween party. Costumes and all that. Should be…real fun. You could come."

"O…okay." Sasuke found himself holding his breath and almost rolled his eyes at his own foolishness. "Costumes, got it."

"Yeah." Naruto looked up at the sky as though he was trying to avoid looking directly at Sasuke. "Should be fun."

"Yeah." Sasuke affirmed, wishing he could come up with something witty or even cruel to say. He sounded like a brainless dolt.

"Seeya." Naruto ran off to join his roommates, who were walking ahead, and Sasuke felt his senses return to him. Mostly.

It was the first time Naruto had spoken to him since the kiss, and even though he had done a pretty horrible job acting naturally, it hadn't ended in violence or in Naruto telling him to die, so that seemed good. Also, while he knew that he would have found out about this party from Shikamaru at least, if someone else didn't invite him, since the whole floor seemed to feel Naruto's room was their hang out spot, Naruto had still invited him personally. He wanted to see him, that was the only explanation. And even if he had to make an ass of himself wearing some dumb costume, he would be there.

It was a great day.

"Sasuke!" Ino came running up to him and he slumped his shoulders in defeat.

Okay, maybe not _great_.

--

To be continued…


	10. Chapter 10

Everything in Between

Everything in Between

Chapter 10

--

"No, no, you can't go in unless you have a costume on!" Kiba stopped Shikamaru, who blinked at him in confusion. "Go put it on!"

"I'm wearing it." Shikamaru told him. "I'm Sasuke." He indicated his clothes, and Kiba couldn't help chuckling.

"Did you really steal his clothes?" he hissed, and Shikamaru nodded. "Well, your hair isn't right."

"Yeah, but I can do this. Say hello to me." Shikamaru told him, and Kiba smiled despite himself.

"Hello, Sasuke." Kiba obliged, and Shikamaru ignored him, walking past. Kiba broke into laughter. "Okay, okay, but I don't know if you care that Sasuke might be pissed if he sees, and if you guys are gonna fight, you have to do it in the hall."

"I'll just pretend to fall asleep if he's angry." Shikamaru explained, and Kiba continued laughing as Shikamaru went inside. Kiba was dressed as a werewolf, and he'd spent nearly an hour getting ready, but he couldn't really expect Shikamaru to put that kind of work into _anything_. He was honestly surprised the other boy had put any thought into his costume, even if it hadn't cost him any money at all. A moment later, Naruto joined him by the door, swinging his plastic sword. He was wearing a pirate costume, and he kept exuberantly jumping at people and telling them to walk the plank, but he seemed so happy no one found it annoying yet, although there were really only a few people already there.

"Um, Shikamaru doesn't have a costume on." He pointed out. "You're supposed to make them get costumes."

"He's Sasuke. He stole his clothes and everything." Kiba told him. "Get him to do his impression."

"Weak, really weak." Naruto rolled his eyes. "I'll guard the door."

"Hey, I thought it was original." Kiba retorted, going into the party and avoiding Chouji in his clown costume because it was actually a bit creepy, he found. He saw Ino and Tenten, who were the only other people there already and went over to get a better look at their costumes. Tenten was a zombie, and he was very impressed by her liberal use of fake blood and makeup to complete the effect. Ino was a bunny, and he wasn't sure her costume actually counted as clothing, because it looked like she had a piece of lingerie on with a tail attached, and was wearing ears on her head.

"Is Sasuke really going to come?" she asked him at once. "Naruto said he invited him. Did he really?"

"Calm down, Ino." Kiba rolled his eyes at the blonde and tried not to look at a part of the costume that would get him in trouble. "He's probably looking for his clothes." He pointed at Shikamaru, and Ino laughed in surprise. "That's what he's dressed as."

"What a cheater." Tenten shook her head.

"No, watch this." He called out to Shikamaru. "Hey Sasuke!" He didn't react at all.

"What?" Tenten narrowed her eyes in confusion.

"He ignored you!" Ino giggled. "Oh my god, that's brilliant." She went to sit by Shikamaru and Tenten snorted slightly.

"Good, now there's a straight version for her to lust after." She commented, and Kiba nearly choked on the drink he'd just mixed.

"Okay, no!" Kiba ran over to the door. "What the hell costume is that?" he pointed to Lee and Shino, who had just walked in, and raised his eyebrows at Naruto.

"I'm Bruce Lee!" Lee explained. He seemed to be wearing a pair of black pants and a white wife-beater. "I wanted to wear no shirt, but Shino said it would be weird."

"I'm a ghost." Shino was wearing what was clearly a sheet with holes cut in it over his head, and his normal clothes were visible below the knee, and whenever he moved.

"Uh…huh." Kiba decided not to fight, because he didn't want Lee to take his shirt off. Ino was one thing, but he did not want Lee running around half naked as well. "Everyone is cheating." He grumbled.

"That's not true, they just got ready fastest cause they had the least work." Naruto shrugged. "Although Tenten's makeup is awesome. She looks like she's been working on it since noon."

"Hey guys!" Clown-Chouji came over to them, and Kiba did his best not to look afraid. He would never live it down if they knew he was afraid of clowns. "When should we do movies?"

"Well, there's not that many people here yet." Naruto shrugged. "What time is it?"

"Seven fifty." Chouji answered, and Naruto tapped his sword to his lips thoughtfully.

"Let's just put the first movie in at eight, okay? And that way it's just playing when people get here, and if people whine, it's their fault for being late." Kiba suggested.

"Good one," Naruto nodded, and Chouji gave him the thumbs up, turning away. "The decorations turned out good, right?"

"Yeah, pretty awesome." Kiba surveyed all the webs and random ghosts and bats and other decorations they had selected. They had turned off the lights and instead plugged in a string of small orange lights on each side of the room, making it dim and even a little spooky, but not actually so dark people would trip over things. "Guess who Ino can't wait to arrive?"

"Her shirt?" Naruto speculated, and Kiba was glad he'd only been holding his drink that time, as he couldn't stop the laughter.

"Sasuke." He batted his lashes, and Naruto let out a harsh chuckle, which caused Kiba to take pause and think about their conversation the other day. He'd taken it at face value when Naruto said he wasn't interested in Sasuke, or any other guy, but he was starting to think that Naruto was either lying, or not really as sure as he pretended to be. His reactions whenever Kiba brought Sasuke up were…a little off. "Ten bucks he doesn't show."

"I hope he forgets his costume." Naruto gave a wicked smile as he recalled the rule Kiba and him had invented that morning. If someone came to the party with no costume, they got to pick a costume for the person, and then they could only come in if they dressed in the way Kiba and Naruto decided for them.

"Hey guys!" they both jumped slightly at Kankurou, who was wearing some horrible black wooden contraption with way too many limbs. "Like my costume?"

"What the heck are you supposed to be?" Kiba puzzled over it.

"Oh! He's a spider!" Naruto figured it out when Kankurou did something to make the limbs wriggle. "Ugh, that costume is a little creepy man. Good job!"

"Yeah, I wore it first a few years ago, and I always scare the crap out of Temari, so it's my favorite one." He waved with three arms and went into the part.

"Oh man…who's that with Sakura?" Kiba pointed down the hall. Sakura was wearing black pants, a black turtleneck, and cat ears with little whiskers drawn on her face, and she was walking next to someone dressed as a robot, but since the person was covered in aluminum foil coated boxes and dryer tubes, it was impossible to tell who it was. "Is it Hinata?" he guessed wildly, since that was Sakura's roommate, but Naruto shook his head.

"Too tall." He pointed out, and in a moment, Sakura reached them with her companion.

"Good one, Sakura." Kiba nodded.

"I have a tail!" she swung the cloth appendage around excitedly, her cheeks pink, and her smile full. It was the happiest Naruto had seen her in ages.

"Hello, everyone." The voice echoed slightly in the box-headpiece, but it was clear who it was.

"Sai?" Naruto was surprised. "That's an awesome costume, man."

"Sakura did a lot of the work." He waved his tube covered arm at his companion, who looked, if anything, more pleased than ever. "It is my first time having a Halloween costume, so she helped me."

"First time?" Kiba was shocked. "Well…damn good job! Come on in, we're gonna start a movie soon, but there's lots of food and drinks if you…um, I don't know how you're going to eat anything with that on.

"It comes off." Sai lifted the headpiece a little to demonstrate. "I am glad it is a damn good job." He let Sakura usher him inside, and Kiba almost made a comment about what a good couple they made before he realized Naruto probably was the last person who wanted to hear about Sakura in a couple with someone else.

"They look good together." Naruto spoke up as though he could read Kiba's mind, and the werewolf struggled for something to say. "You think they're dating?"

"I don't think…well, she like just started getting over the Sasuke thing." Kiba hesitated as Naruto's face went a bit stony, but he pressed onwards. "Don't you like Sakura still?"

"I don't know." He shrugged. "I mean, what's the point? She's never going to like me that way. I'm happier at least having her as a friend."

"You have a crush on someone else?" Kiba pressed, and Naruto clammed up immediately. "Who else is coming?" he changed the subject.

"Oh, here comes…is that…Hinata?" Naruto turned his head so far to the side it looked like it would fall off his shoulders as a girl in a kimono approached them, her face painted in the traditional fashion, and her hair pulled up and pinned meticulously with decorations.

"Whoa…where'd you get that?" Kiba asked, and Hinata shrugged. She was probably blushing under her makeup, but the whiteface was effective at hiding that.

"My father likes me to have traditional clothes for special occasions. Usually I don't do the makeup or the hair since people would think—"

"You look totally like a geisha!" Naruto was behind her, examining her hair. "Who did your hair for you?"

"Sakura." Hinata answered, and Naruto whistled low.

"Man, she spent more time getting you and Sai ready than herself." Kiba pointed out, and Hinata nodded slightly.

"She is always like that. She cares very much for her friends. She also did the makeup for me." Hinata gestured toward her face and Kiba ushered her inside. Naruto suspected he wouldn't be helping with the door anymore. A moment later, Temari swept in dressed as a queen, complete with crown and scepter, and Naruto enjoyed watching her try to shoo the nearly naked Ino away from Shikamaru with limited success.

"We're here." Naruto looked back to the doorway, where Gaara and Neji were clearly wearing their normal clothes.

"You have to have costumes to come in." Naruto told them, and Gaara frowned.

"We're college students. Now let us in." Neji pressed, and Naruto blocked the door.

"Nope, you have to have real costumes." He insisted, privately pleased that Neji couldn't come in. He wasn't sure he wanted to see Neji right now, though he tried not to think about why he was annoyed with the tall young man.

"What's going on?" Temari swept over. "Gaara, I told you that you needed a costume," she shook her head at her brother. "Naruto, I have some horns I could get for him…we could put him in an outfit and he can be the devil. How's that?"

"Okay, yes, Gaara, you can dress like the devil." Naruto turned to Neji speculatively, considering what he could force the other to wear. Hinata was coming over now, and she gathered what was going on from Temari.

"What about if Neji wears his fencing outfit?" Hinata suggested helpfully, and Naruto frowned.

"No, that's too easy. He came without a costume, he has to pay the penalty. Gaara was already halfway down the hall with his sister. "Do you have any dresses he could wear?"

"I will _not_ wear a dress." Neji told him in a flat tone.

"I'll check!" Hinata moved surprisingly swiftly for someone in a kimono, and a few seconds later, Kiba, who had been watching the scene, stumbled after her to help.

"I don't even want to go to this party." Neji told him, standing straight and looking down his nose at Naruto, who he was much taller than. "You can't get me to wear a dress."

"Fine, leave." Naruto shrugged. "Gaara will be here, and Sasuke's coming as well, so I guess you'll have to sleep by yourself."

"Oh, _that_," Neji smirked slightly, "is that what this is all about? If you're jealous, then go try it yourself. He'll let anyone take a turn."

"I found—" Hinata froze in the hallway with the garment in her hands as she got an excellent view of Naruto punching Neji so hard he actually flew off his feet, and landed on his back in a heap. "What happened?!" she was seriously regretting the kimono. It wasn't the most flexible garment.

"Oh shit!" Kiba let out a nervous laugh and ran over to see a very dazed Neji blinking at the ceiling, blood dripping down his lip. "Did you…" he trailed off and when he saw the look on Hinata's face, he attempted to make his expression as mournful as hers.

"Sorry! I'm sorry, I have to go!" Naruto ran down the hall, dropping his sword, and Kiba helped Hinata with Neji, who looked like he was slowly regaining a sense of his surroundings.

Naruto ran to Sasuke's door, knocking urgently, and he heard some shuffling before the door was opened, and Sasuke, who had just been finishing the makeup for his vampire costume, stared at Naruto in bewilderment. He wasn't sure if it was the pirate outfit, the look of desperation on his face, or the fact that Naruto was trying to gain entrance to _his_ room, but he had no idea what to think, so he just swept his cape back and let Naruto in. He looked like he was going to say something, then shook his head, started pacing, stopped, and again appeared on the verge of saying something.

"Is everything okay?" Sasuke asked, not knowing what else to say at this point. Weirdly, the costume made him feel a lot more confident. Maybe it was the fact that Naruto looked a little goofy. Also, quite adorable, but he doubted everyone would agree with him on that one.

"I can't tell…" Naruto threw up his hands, stopping again, crossing his arms and looking ready to scold Sasuke before he shook his head and started pacing again. "I had to…"

"What is going on?" Sasuke intercepted his visitor and grabbed him by the shoulders. "Do you need something?"

"I need to know!" Naruto told him, as though Sasuke would know what this meant. He shook his head again and took a deep breath. "If I ask you to do something, will you promise it stays a secret, just between us?"

"What?" Sasuke's voice went soft, and he couldn't make himself care. Was he being given a chance to win back Naruto's friendship?

"Kiss me. I need to know." Naruto told him, and Sasuke felt his fingers go numb. He blinked senselessly at the boy in front of him. "Come on! I won't get pissed, I need to see something, okay?"

"What do you need to see?" Sasuke was completely confused. The last time he had kissed Naruto, it had been an abysmal failure, so he felt his hesitation was justified.

"Just do it already!" Naruto growled, and Sasuke took a step back, releasing his shoulders.

"You already told me how you felt about that." Sasuke was sounding angry now. "I get it. I won't do it again, so don't worry."

"I fucking said," Naruto rushed Sasuke, pushing him back onto Shikamaru's bed. "Kiss me!"

"No! I'm not going to get shoved away again." Sasuke glared at Naruto, feeling that this was completely unfair and totally cruel of Naruto to rub his face in his failure this way.

"Fine!" Naruto pressed his own mouth down, but Sasuke saw it coming, and feeling extremely irritated and stubborn, he turned his face out of the way so that Naruto was left with his collar. "Stay still! I'm going to kiss you if you like it or not!"

"You can't just force me!" Sasuke growled back at him.

"You were the one kissing me before! So I'm not good enough for you anymore?" Naruto asked. "Now that you've had Neji, you're not interested in me?"

"Fuck Neji!" Sasuke struggled, wanting to escape this situation. Naruto had found out about Neji, and now he was here to mock him. "It doesn't matter to you, so why don't you just leave me alone!"

"You're the one who jumped in bed with Neji right after kissing me!" Naruto snarled. "Why am I the one who suddenly doesn't care?"

"You didn't talk to me for _weeks_!" Sasuke shot back. "What was I supposed to think?"

"You surprised me, okay!" Naruto answered, feeling the strength drain from him. "I didn't know what to think, and I overreacted, and I'm sorry." He released Sasuke and flopped down on his back next to him. "I'm sorry, I don't know what I was thinking. Can't we just go back to how it was?"

"Is that what you really want?" Sasuke asked, propping himself up on one elbow and looking down at Naruto. "Should we pretend it never happened?"

"No." Naruto sighed. "Just…when you did that…what were you thinking?"

"I don't know, which of the stupid things do you mean?" Sasuke asked. "I've been racking up a lot of them lately."

"When you kissed me." He answered, looking up at Sasuke, who blinked down at him, raising a hand to move Naruto's hair out of his face.

"I was thinking that you're the first person I've been attracted to who might be good for me." Sasuke admitted. "I was hoping you'd kiss me back. I was thinking you might punch me."

"Close," Naruto smiled, and Sasuke actually smiled back. "Why'd you go to him?"

"I didn't mean for that to happen, but the way you reacted…" Sasuke shook his head. "I've never really worried about being rejected before, but that time…I wanted so badly for you to want me back…and you didn't. Neji was talking to me, telling me it was okay…next thing I knew…"

"Did he force you?" Naruto's voice was husky, and Sasuke shivered, shaking his head.

"No, I just made a dumb mistake." Sasuke let out a harsh laugh. "I thought if he could…it would make me forget, so I just let him do what he wanted."

"Did you know he was trying to get Gaara jealous?" Naruto asked, and Sasuke shook his head.

"Not until it was too late." He answered, and Naruto nodded.

"Do you want to kiss me?" he asked, and Sasuke stiffened. "Why does it have to be a trick? If you want to, just do it. I'm giving you permission. I can see you looking at my mouth."

Sasuke couldn't think of anything clever to say, all he could think was that he was going to do it, and he was terrified of what might happen this time, but the way that Naruto was looking at him…somehow that made it easier. He lowered his face slowly, closing his eyes just as his lips found Naruto's, and then they were kissing. It was full of pain and longing and hope, and Sasuke knew that if Naruto pushed him away this time, it would be the end for him. It hurt too much the last time, he couldn't keep doing this, but now…right now, Naruto was kissing him back, his lips moving slowly, clearly inexperienced, but earnest and sweet, and thoroughly Naruto. Sasuke heard the soft moan, but until he pulled away, he didn't realize it had come from him. He blinked down at Naruto, afraid of what he would see, afraid of what the other would say.

"Do it again." He breathed after a long silence, and he lifted his neck slightly, meeting Sasuke halfway, his hand delving into the black locks as he let the sensations wash over him, and he knew that whatever else was true, this was something he had wanted for a long time, and it took so long to see because he had never thought of the possibility before. But Sasuke…he had opened his eyes to something he never knew, and it was beautiful, and he knew he never wanted to go without this again.

"On my bed?" Shikamaru's voice made them both leap up in surprise. "Keep it to your side of the room, Sasuke." He picked up the chess board and left, just as though he had expected to see them kissing when he opened the door.

"We should go." Sasuke was not sure what the expression on Naruto's face meant, and he was desperately trying not to be optimistic. "The party."

"Fuck the party." Naruto shoved Sasuke onto his own bed, and kissed him deeply, and for a moment, Sasuke thought he would cry, but instead, he channeled all of his emotions into the kiss, and felt as though the pain was evaporating from him. "I messed up your makeup anyway." Sasuke couldn't stop the laughter bubbling up in him, and Naruto couldn't resist joining in, and they lay for hours kissing and talking and feeling like they had wasted time hiding from something this easy and natural and powerful.

Before they fell asleep, Sasuke told Naruto he wanted them to be together, and Naruto agreed. They fell asleep laying together, legs tangled, Naruto's hand twisted in Sasuke's hair, Sasuke's hand on the small of Naruto's back.

When Sasuke woke up, he thought it had been a dream, but then he opened his eyes to see Naruto still sleeping, his face peaceful and perfect in Sasuke's eyes.

It was the best he had ever felt about any choice he ever made.

He hoped Naruto felt the same.

--

To be continued…


	11. Chapter 11

Everything in Between

Everything in Between

Chapter 11

--

"You look so nice," Temari clasped her hands together, and Gaara looked at her unsurely.

"I have horns on." He reminded her, straightening the red tie she had forced him to wear. He hated ties. She also made him wear a black dress shirt and slacks. He was pretty sure he hated Halloween.

"You're _supposed_ to be the devil, you have to wear the horns." She sighed heavily. "Trust me, Neji will think you look great."

"These are uncomfortable." He attempted again. "Can't I just not go to the party?"

"Gaara, we made a deal." She reminded him. "I'll be nice to Neji and keep Kankurou from attacking him, but you have to still do things with everyone. Just one hour, okay?"

"Fine." He grumbled. Neji didn't know about the deal, but Gaara was thinking he'd have to tell him soon or he would be very suspicious of Gaara suddenly _wanting_ to go to parties. He wished his boyfriend and his siblings could just get along. Although, he did see their point about the whole Sasuke debacle. If he could find it in him to resist Neji, he would probably still be very upset with him. Temari pulled him out into the hall, paused, and then ran towards where Gaara could see Hinata fussing over someone on the ground with Kiba…

"Neji?" he ran forward, realizing that for some reason, his boyfriend was bleeding and looking extremely confused. "What happened?" he demanded. Kiba and Hinata exchanged a glance and Hinata turned to him.

"We're not really sure." She said. "But for some reason—"

"It's okay." Neji shook his head to clear it. "I just didn't…expect."

"What happened?" Gaara knelt down and pulled Neji to his feet. Neji blinked at him, held him at arm's length, and then raised his eyebrows.

"You look…so good." Neji spoke slowly.

"We got you a dress!" Hinata exclaimed, hoping that there would be no more fighting.

"Neji…what happened?" Gaara did not feel he should _ever_ have to repeat himself.

"I said something I shouldn't have…so Naruto punched me." Neji seemed to be regaining himself a bit at a time. "And I said I won't dress like that."

"He punched you?" Gaara growled, "Where is he?"

"No!" Hinata objected. "No, don't attack Naruto!"

"He was just defending Sasuke's honor." Neji sighed. "It's fine, it just surprised me, but I think…I deserved it."

"No one should hit you." Gaara grumbled.

"Does that apply to you as well?" Neji touched the healing cuts and bruises on his face, and Gaara flushed slightly. "Just let it go this one time, okay?"

"Okay." Gaara sighed, unwilling to argue with him. He could understand why Naruto wanted to punch Neji after what happened with Sasuke, but he didn't have to like it. "Are we going in now?"

"He has to wear a costume." Kiba insisted. "We got this dress for him."

"I will not wear a dress." Neji repeated. Kiba snapped his fingers as an idea struck him.

"Go put on Gaara's clothes and be him. That's what Shikamaru did, he's being Sasuke." Kiba indicated the normally dressed person inside their room.

"I have to wear this, but he wears normal clothes?" Gaara grumbled as Neji happily went back to their room. "I want to change. I want to go as Neji."

"Come on! You look so nice." Temari scowled, and he rolled his eyes to the ceiling. One more hour and he could just take all his clothes off and be in bed with Neji. He thought he could probably handle that. Soon, Neji returned, the pants he was wearing were a bit too short, but other than that, he looked rather normal. Kiba let them both in and they joined everyone around the television, where they were watching Nightmare Before Christmas, eating, drinking, and generally having a good time.

"Is Sasuke here yet?" Ino turned when she saw the group enter, but she was disappointed yet again. However, her eyes lit up when she spotted Gaara. "Oh my god…I'm proposing a new law. Gaara has to wear a shirt and tie every day. Look how hot he is! He's like, a sex demon."

"Please stop ogling my brother." Temari attempted to make her move so she could sit next to Shikamaru, but she was not at all intimidated by the other blonde, it seemed.

"Neji, where's your costume?" Sakura asked, a bit confused by his short pants.

"I'm Gaara." He explained, and Tenten clicked her tongue in irritation.

"Some people are _cheaters_." She sighed as though she was very put upon and got up to get more food. "Hey…where's Naruto?"

"Oh yeah, I haven't seen him in a bit." Chouji frowned.

"He punched me and ran off." Neji answered. "Probably to Sasuke."

"Man, can't you just keep on people's good sides for like one week?" Kankurou laughed and his limbs clacked, causing Temari to shudder.

"Oh my god, not _that_ costume! Kankurou, no, I told you never to wear that thing again." She had been so preoccupied with Ino's cleavage in Shikamaru's face that she hadn't really looked around at the other partygoers before.

"Excuse me, but I am trying to enjoy this movie." Sai spoke up, looking slightly odd now that he had taken his headpiece off to see the movie better.

"Yeah guys, Sai's never seen this before." Sakura explained.

"Man, if I had your parents, I would have run away and joined the circus." Kiba told him, and he blinked at the other man in confusion. "Just…never mind."

"Don't tease him, he can't help it." Sakura defended him again.

"So, are you guys dating?" Kiba asked, and Ino immediately started giggling. "Cause you haven't been after Sasuke for a while, and now you're making Sai's costume for him, coming to the party with him, sitting with him, talking for him…it's a little suspicious."

"Sometimes people are just good friends." Hinata pointed out. "Like Gaara and N—wait, no, that is a bad example. Oh! Well, it is like how after the accident, Sasuke would always come to spend time with Naruto, and they were always together."

"Yeah, except Sasuke wants to do Naruto." Kankurou pointed out. "Even I know that."

"Like you aren't one of the biggest gossips _ever_." Temari scowled at him. "But what Hinata's saying is true. People can spend time together without having ulterior motives."

"Like Shikamaru and you?" Kankurou waggled his eyebrows, and she calmly stood, walked over to him, and smacked him over the head with her scepter before storming out of the room.

"This isn't fair." Gaara frowned. "I am supposed to stay one hour, and it has only been ten minutes and she gets to leave already."

"What was that about?" Sakura seemed bewildered enough to no longer be embarrassed by Kiba's question.

"She kissed Shikamaru, but he does not want a girlfriend." Gaara explained readily, causing many gasps and much whispering.

"Okay, no." Shikamaru stood up and left, causing several of the people left in the party to make catcalls.

"He's going to go comfort her." Kiba laughed. "Maybe he does want a girlfriend after all."

"No, no." Kankurou, who was secretly a bit protective of his sister, had gone to the door to see where Shikamaru was going, but he was headed in the opposite direction of Temari. "He's just going back to his room."

"Well, can't expect him to stay conscious for that long, I guess." Kiba sighed, and everyone laughed.

"I am still trying to watch the movie." Sai reminded them patiently, and since no one was paying attention to them anymore, Sakura patted his hand comfortingly. He blinked at her in surprise, and she flushed, turning to watch the movie.

"I'm leaving." Gaara sighed in relief. "Kankurou, if Temari asks, I was here for an hour."

"Okay, but only if you guys aren't so loud." He teased his brother, and both Neji and Gaara went slightly red. "What? I hear it's pretty noisy from Kiba, and one time I was walking past to get a glass of water, and all I could hear was—"

"Stop!" Hinata had never yelled that anyone in room could really recall, besides Neji, so they all turned to her in surprise. "That is their private business. Do not talk about it like that." Neji felt a surge of affection for his cousin and smiled at her as he left with Gaara. He was feeling exceptionally happy. Probably the fact that his clothes smelled like Gaara, and Gaara himself looked amazingly attractive in his current outfit.

"Thank god." He sighed as they closed their door. "I want to fuck you right now."

"It's my turn to be on top." Gaara pointed out, without much conviction. "Let me take these things off first."

"No, leave them on." Neji lunged at him and they fell to the bed with an oomph and a crash. So much for being quiet…

Shikamaru froze as he heard a loud crashing as he walked past Neji and Gaara's room, and after a moment of considering whether he should check and see if they were okay, he decided he'd seen enough men making out for today, and continued on his way, feeling nervous as he knocked on Temari's door. He really did want to be friends with her, and he was hoping to make peace, but when she saw him in the doorway, he could see she was not ready for that at the moment.

"Fuck off!" she told him, before slamming it in his face.

"So, it's true?" Ino was about ten feet away from him as he stood in shocked silence outside Temari's door.

"Wh—what?" he asked, still a bit surprised, and she smiled, shaking her head.

"Can you help me out with something?" she beckoned him, and he nodded, following her down the hallway until he realized they were standing outside of her bedroom door.

"What do you want?" he asked. He had already told Temari he didn't want a girlfriend, and he wasn't sure what the hell Ino had been drinking to decide that she'd settle for him, but he was seriously not going to just bow to her whims, no matter how good she looked in her outfit.

"I just need some help. I'm changing into my pajamas, this outfit is uncomfortable," she explained, walking in and kicking off her high heels. "Come on, I'm not going to do a striptease, I just need you to get this hook in the back. See at the top of the zipper?" she pointed, turning, and despite his better judgment, telling him he _definitely_ better not go into the bedroom with the sexy bunny girl asking him to help her undress, it seemed that his legs decided they had their own agenda. He tried to remember how much he'd had to drink, and realized that he could not, and suddenly saw why he had decided _right now_ had been an excellent time to reconcile with Temari. Dammit. The alcohol, the lingerie…it was clearly a conspiracy to make him break his own rules!

"I can't have a girlfriend." He blurted out. "Because…I need time for studying."

"I asked you to unfasten the hook, not go out on a date." Ino stomped impatiently, and he gulped, shifting his chess board under one arm and lifting his hands to do as she said.

"There." He tried to step back, but his legs were being stubborn again.

"And can you start the zipper for me?" she asked, looking over her shoulder in a pleading way.

"Oh…okay." He licked his lips, his heart beating as furiously as if he'd been asked to diffuse a bomb, and lowered the zipper three inches before she was satisfied.

"Thanks!" she closed the door and pointed to the bed. "Sit down, I want to talk to you." He found himself sitting down rather heavily, since apparently his knees had been somehow changed to water. He watched as she dug her pajamas out of her drawer and gulped, wondering if she actually _was _going to strip right in front of him, despite her earlier claims. However, she went into the closet, and he could tell from the rustling that she was changing in there. He tried not to think about that too much.

"So," she asked from inside the closet, "are you guys dating, or did you really turn her down?"

"Who…oh, do you mean Temari?" it was taking his mind longer than usual to connect the dots. And he had wanted to play chess like this! Temari might have beat him!

"No, one of your many other secret girlfriends." Ino joked. "Yes, of course I mean Temari."

"I can't have a girlfriend, I said." He told her, and she left the closet, wearing a sheer nightgown he felt was not much more concealing than what she'd been wearing before, gliding over to sit next to him, leaning against the wall and pulling her feet up on the bed. He noticed with a weird sense of clarity that she had very perfect looking feet. That was a strange thing to notice, he realized, but at least he wasn't staring at her cleavage again.

"Yes, but maybe you said that because you already have a secret one!" Ino pointed out.

"You only care because you want to gossip about it." Shikamaru replied after a pause, and she frowned at him.

"Shikamaru, it occurs to me that you've been helping me try to get close to Sasuke since nearly the beginning of the school year. That's almost two months." She told him.

"I wasn't really helping." He answered.

"How come you never let Sakura wait in the room for him? And did you tell her his schedule?" Ino asked, and he fidgeted a bit.

"And even after he said he was gay—"

"He _is_." Shikamaru cut in, but she waved it away.

"—you've continued to help me, even though you have tried to warn me that maybe I'm doing all of this for nothing. I know that you like me, but I wonder how much you have to like someone to do all of that for them?"

"Sasuke _is_ gay. He's making out with Naruto right now. I just saw them." Shikamaru told her, and Ino's face went pale, her jaw slack, momentarily speechless. "Wait…don't tell anyone. Let them just do it in their own time, okay?"

"He was…really?" she snapped her fingers and recovered her composure. "Dammit. That Naruto's better than I thought. He knew my costume would be the straw that broke the camel's back, so he struck before Sasuke could even see!"

"Honestly, he told me, he's never liked any girl, so even if he saw that outfit, which would really work on _any_ even kind of straight man, he wouldn't have been affected." Shikamaru told her, and she sighed.

"Well, even so, I'll have to see if it's really serious…I could still win." She rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "Your help will be necessary, of course."

"What, are you planning to bribe me or something?" Shikamaru scowled at her. "Don't you get it at all? He's never going to pick you."

"You're not helping at all." She grumbled, finally seeming a bit discouraged. "Go away now. I need to think of a strategy." Shikamaru sighed and left, thinking that he would never understand women, and then realized that he had to choose between sleeping in his room with Sasuke and Naruto making out in the next bed, or find somewhere else to sleep. Weighing his options, he went to Kankurou and Sai's room, which was unlocked, as he'd suspected, and made himself a bed on the floor, hoping no one would ask too many questions. He didn't want to have to spoil the secret, and he honestly wanted Sasuke to stop being such a depressed moper. He really hoped things worked out.

--

"That was unexpected." Shino scooped up his roommate, hitching his arm around his shoulders. "I will take care of him."

"Do you…do you need help with him?" Tenten had been shocked when Lee suddenly started trying to lift furniture, managing to succeed in dumping over a nightstand and one dresser, making a huge crash that led them all to believe they would be better wrapping up the party and going to bed before campus security could be called. However, when Shino stood up in the midst of the drunken rampage, swept aside his sheet, and dealt Lee a blow to the back of the neck that knocked him out…he had looked amazingly heroic right then. Her heart was racing from the excitement of it all.

"Thank you." Shino shifted slightly and she stood to help him, draping Lee's other arm around her own neck. "Has he never gotten drunk at any of the parties before?" she asked Shino as they worked their way out of the room, around panicked people hiding or disposing of drinks and food. Kankurou was trying to take charge, and while she was sure he had a lot of close calls with the authorities, no one really seemed to find him to be an intimidating leader, so they were just doing everything on their own.

"I suppose not." He pursed his lips. "He told me he usually doesn't drink. Perhaps this is why."

"You were…amazing, the way you stopped him." Tenten couldn't stop herself from gushing just a little bit. "Where did you learn that?"

"I have a black belt." He explained simply. "My parents wanted me to be interested in something besides entomology. I was not interested, but I learned some things."

"Oh…do your parents not like all your pets?" she asked, and he blinked at her, clearly a bit surprised. "What?"

"No one else refers to them as pets." He sounded relieved, as though she had justified something he had been arguing for years now. "Not even my parents. They call them 'all those damn bugs,' or some variation."

"I'd…I'd like to see them all, some time." She flushed. She had never seen Shino when his face wasn't covered by a scarf or a wide collar, and clearly he had decided to do without either, and also left off the sunglasses for his costume. He had very pale eyes, and she wondered if he was just a bit light sensitive. She'd heard of people with partial albinism, and while his hair was dark, his skin and eyes were so pale…almost like Neji's.

"That would be…very nice." Shino smiled at her, and she felt like she better not look at him anymore, or she would swoon.

--

"Okay, this is insane." Sakura couldn't take it anymore. Kankurou had no control over the people running every which way. "Everyone!" she let out a piercing whistle and everyone froze, turning to her, clearly mistaking the sharp sound for something from security from the pale faces turned in her direction. "Okay, you're getting nothing done this way. Chouji, Kankurou, you get the bottles _back_ in Kankurou's room. Kiba, you put away the food. Sai, you toss out plates and dishes in _this_ garbage bag." She hefted a bag she'd brought in that everyone had been ignoring as they generally ran around like chickens with their heads cut off. "Hinata, clean up any spills with me. Whoever's done first, come see me and I will reassign you. Go!" Everyone was so surprised by Sakura's stern, authoritative tone, they went about their assigned tasks at once.

"Wow, Sakura," Hinata smiled as she joined her roommate, cleaning up the clothes that had been spilled out of the dresser, which had actually been lifted back up already. "That was so impressive. I can never do things like that."

"You don't have to yell to get attention." Sakura assured her, a resigned look on her face as they crammed clothing into the dresser willy-nilly. Since it appeared to be Kiba's clothes, she doubted very much that he would notice a difference in the degree of organization. Sakura almost wished she'd left early, like Ino or Shikamaru, but she was actually glad she could help her friends like this. However, she did _not_ want to get in trouble.

"Shikamaru's sleeping on my floor!" Kankurou had returned after removing the bulk of his costume, and instead of grabbing more bottles to return to his bedroom, he was whining to Sakura while Chouji carried on with his assignment alone.

"I don't care who's in your room and _what _they're doing!" she snapped at him. "I gave you a job, now do it!"

"Yeah, could be worse," Kiba called from where he was determinedly trying to cover an open salsa container with a sandwich bag. "Could be Neji and Gaara in there using your bed to get their freak on."

"I found the lid." Sai gave Kiba the lid to the container he was wrestling with, and he gratefully accepted it, putting aside the sandwich bag at once. "Also, you should not talk about sex so casually. Sakura told me it is a private matter." Kiba pulled a face and Kankurou and him exchanged bewildered looks.

"You're defiling my student!" Kankurou despaired. "I've tried to mold him in my image, but now you've—"

"Do your job!" Sakura stomped to emphasize her point, and he retreated at once.

"I think we are done." Sai told her just as Hinata and she finished with the dresser. "What should I do now?" Sakura smiled, as Sai was still wearing his costume, and it was rather adorable.

"Take those other bottles back to your room." She indicated. "Kiba, clean up that spill over there."

"Why do I have to clean the floor?" he pouted.

"Because Sai is covered in boxes and foil. It's a little hard for him to get down on the floor." She answered. "Hinata, if you can vacuum up the chips over there, we'll be done. I'll go deal with Shikamaru."

"At once!" Hinata smiled and gave her a little salute, following her out of the room, but turning into their bedroom for the vacuum, while Sakura continued on to Sai and Kankurou's room.

"Chouji, we've finished, you can go to bed." Sakura patted the cheerful boy on his shoulder and he nodded, leaving to see if he could find any snacks. Kankurou was lovingly rearranging his bottles, and Sai was struggling with his costume. "Here, let me help you." She moved forward, and since she had helped put it on, it was a matter of minutes for them to remove it with their combined efforts. "Better?"

"It was oddly liberating to wear a costume." Sai told her. "But also hard to move. Yes, this is better."

"Now what about _him_?" Kankurou pointed at the interloper on their floor. "What's he doing in here?"

"Maybe he got lost." Sakura shrugged. "Shikamaru?" she lowered herself, attempting to wake him up, but he remained stubbornly resistant to her shoulder shaking.

"I am happy to have a visitor." Sai told her. "But I would like my pillow back. Also my blanket. I like to use those for sleeping."

"Well, he isn't waking up." Sakura sighed, suspicious that he _was_ waking up and was just pretending not to because he was comfortable. "We'll have to smuggle him back to his room. Boys, you carry him, and I'll check that the coast is clear."

"Why do I have to carry him?" Kankurou complained, and Sakura rolled her eyes, but Sai answered before she could.

"Sakura is a lady. It is called chivalry to do things like this for them." Sai pointed out. "Besides, she is helping us when this is not her room, and she really has no invested interest in where Shikamaru sleeps. It makes sense for us to carry him."

"Thank you, Sai." Sakura smiled. At least someone wasn't a complete whiner. "Okay, pick him up and I'll check the hallway." She left the room, snuck down the hall until she was outside Kiba's room, where she had a good view of the stairwell and the other end of the hall. She heard Hinata giggling at something Kiba was saying and she wondered briefly what was going on there, but decided now was not the time to speculate about her friends' interpersonal relationships.

Sai poked his head out of the door, and she beckoned him, since there was no one around at all, and Kankurou and Sai drug Shikamaru out of their room, slung between their shoulders by way of his arms as he sagged limply between them and even let out a little snore. Maybe he really was asleep. "Okay, I'll watch the stairs, you guys take him to his room." She whispered, oddly enjoying the feeling that they were doing something wrong, which honestly, they weren't. At least not at the moment. "Go!" She ran to the stairwell and stepped out into it, feeling her heart speed up as she saw campus security down on the first landing, talking with someone. Feeling panic, she raced back into the hallway and tried to think of how much time they would have. Not much. She was glad Kankurou and Sai weren't slowed down by their respective costumes.

"Guys!" she hissed as she rushed over to where they were trying to open the door. "We have to hurry, security is downstairs. We have maybe five or ten minutes."

"Shit!" Kankurou hissed and nearly dropped Shikamaru and nearly knocked Sakura over, running back to his room and leaving them to fend for themselves.

"Oh, thanks." Sakura rolled her eyes, and helped Sai with Shikamaru. They got the door open and edged into the dark room, hefting Shikamaru into his bed as he let out an especially loud snore. "How can he sleep through all of that?" she wondered in a whisper, not wanting to wake up Sasuke and have to explain her presence in his room in the middle of the night. "Good thing it's so clean in here, I can't see where I'm going." She giggled slightly and Sai grabbed her hand. Her heart was racing, from the adrenaline, probably. She peeked out the door and saw that the stairwell door was opening, so she made a silencing gesture, pulled the door silently closed, and clutched at Sai's hand as though it would protect her from getting caught sneaking around the dorm rooms late at night. She wished she had removed her costume now, because then she could have just acted as though she were up late studying if she was caught in the halls, which Sai could probably easily pretend at this point if he wanted to escape. Instead, he was staying here with her, and she couldn't help appreciating that. She hoped Hinata had gotten out of Kiba's room, because her outfit really could not pass off as study time clothes, nor could Kiba's. She supposed that he would hide her if he knew they were coming, and at least the knock on the door would alert them. She crossed her fingers and breathed deeply, trying to calm down. Getting used to the dark, she began to see more of Sasuke's room, and she realized that Sasuke had a lot of lumps in his bed, it almost looked as if…

"What is it?" Sai whispered when she let out a strangled noise, and she pointed at the bed. "Oh, I see, that is where Naruto went." The way they were lying together, Sasuke's arm draped over Naruto's form, their legs tangled together, and their faces inches apart made it clear that it was not a completely platonic sleepover. Sakura was surprised to realize that while she was surprised, she was not really upset, the way she had been several weeks ago. She supposed she had never really known Sasuke that well, and her feelings for him had not been as deep as she wanted to believe.

_Ino won't like this, though._

"You are looking very concentrated." Sai whispered. "Are you upset?"

"No," she answered honestly. "I'm glad you're here with me, though. I hope Hinata and Kiba are okay."

--

"How does this look?" Hinata indicated the area she had vacuumed, and Kiba looked up from where he was trying to get the fake fur off his face. He'd already removed the headpiece, because he thought it was a crime to look goofy when he had special bonus alone time with Hinata, looking exceptionally good in her kimono.

"It looks good, you're really doing a great job." He smiled, and she returned it, shuffling over to help him with his face. He felt his heart speed up as she gently peeled away the fur, standing on her tiptoes to reach, so that their faces were amazingly close.

"Am I hurting you?" she asked, her voice soft and gentle as always.

"N—no," he stuttered, and she finished the job. "Much better, it was really itchy."

"Without the head, it looks like you are wearing furry footy pajamas." Hinata giggled. "It is very cute."

"Oh…really?" he didn't really think there was anything wrong with Hinata thinking he was cute. "You look…so good tonight. I mean, you always look pretty, but you look—"

"Open up! Campus security!" there was a loud knocking on the door, and Kiba's eyes widened. Hinata looked around, trying to think of a place to hide.

"Go…get in my bed." He hissed, and ushered her over, pulling the blanket up over so that she was completely covered. He looked down at himself, licked his lips, and unzipped his costume, struggling out of it so that he almost fell over.

"Open up or we're coming in!" the warning was repeated, and he finally got out of the costume, pushing it under his bed with one foot and looking around for a bathrobe. Chouji had taken his when he went to go take a shower, and he knew that he had one somewhere…

"Ah, just a second!" he called out settling for a shirt he pulled on, that he belatedly realized wasn't even his. From the fact that it fit, he knew it was Naruto's, but the security guys wouldn't know that. At least he wasn't answering the door in just his boxers. He really hoped Hinata wasn't peeking. "Sorry, I was getting ready for bed." He apologized as he opened the door, smiling as winningly as possible. Thank goodness he'd gotten all that face crap off! "How can I help, gentlemen?" he asked the pair of uniformed security guards outside his room, still feeling rather naked in boxers and a t-shirt.

"We had a noise complaint for this room from downstairs." The taller officer told him. "Anything going on up here?"

"Anything…no, nothing at all! Just another night. We watched a movie." He pointed to the television, which was off at the moment. "Had snacks, studied a little. One of my roommates already went to bed." He made a slight hushing noise.

"This is a triple, where's your other roommate?" asked the other officer.

"In the shower, you know, getting ready for bed." Kiba smiled again, and the guards looked at him suspiciously.

"We heard there was a very loud crashing noise up here." The tall officer told him.

"Oh! Yeah, we were moving around furniture to watch the movie, and we knocked the dresser over. My clothes are all messed up, now." He shook his head and chuckled. The officers pushed past him and came into the room, and he dearly hoped they would not check the bed Hinata was in, but one of them made a hushing gesture and indicated his bed before they made a circuit of the room. He was really glad everything was cleaned up.

"Nice decorations." One of them commented.

"Yeah, I love Halloween, you know." He laughed again. "It's festive, right?"

"Festive." The tall one pursed his lips and shrugged at the other. "Okay, just try to keep it down up here, and be safe if you're pushing furniture around. You could be seriously hurt if a full dresser falls on you."

"Oh…oh, yeah, I definitely agree." Kiba felt relief wash over him, and as though on cue, Chouji returned in his bathrobe, hair damp and face pink and clean, a towel slung over his shoulder. "Hey Chouji! I guess someone heard the dresser fall when we moved it and thought something crazy was happening in here."

"Crazy, in here?" Chouji was a surprisingly good actor, and Kiba almost thought he really was surprised. "Yeah right."

"Good night, gentlemen." The officers left, and Kiba heaved a sigh of relief as he closed the door after them.

"Okay…who's in your bed?" Chouji asked, and Hinata peeked out of the blankets. Chouji raised his eyebrows and refrained from making any comments, for which Kiba was grateful.

"Your bed smells nice." Hinata told him as he helped her out of it. He felt himself turn so red, he thought his blood was boiling.

"Does anyone know where Naruto is?" Chouji asked, and she was immediately concerned, but before anyone could say anything, Sai and Sakura returned.

"You guys okay?" Sakura looked as though she was overheating, or perhaps embarrassed, her cheeks were pink and glowing.

"We were wondering where Naruto is." Hinata frowned slightly.

"Oh, he is—" Sai began, but Sakura clapped a hand over his mouth.

"He's fine." She answered, and Hinata tilted her head. "He's fine." She repeated.

It wasn't a lie. He'd looked pretty comfortable in that bed with Sasuke.

--

To be continued…


	12. Chapter 12

Everything in Between

Everything in Between

Chapter 12

--

"No…don't get up," Neji felt himself waking up as Gaara slipped out of his arms to get out of the bed. "Just a little longer."

"Someone's at the door." Gaara advised him, and Neji realized he could hear knocking now that he concentrated on something other than the warm person beside him leaving.

"'Stoo early." Neji was seriously beginning to suspect that Gaara never actually slept. He had asked, and Gaara had confirmed this suspicion, but Neji had thought that surely he slept _sometimes_. However, Neji had yet to witness it, and whenever he woke up, Gaara was always getting out of bed, already gone, or sometimes in bed, staring at him. He imagined this had to be a bit boring, even though he was amazingly attractive, so he probably welcomed the prospect of a visitor. "Come back to bed."

Gaara actually gave him a small smile before opening the door. Neji huffed in annoyance and rolled so he was facing the wall, but he knew once Gaara came back to bed, which he inevitably would, his irritation would dissolve.

"Hey," Naruto stood at the door, his hair still damp from a fresh shower, wearing a fresh set of clothes. When he woke up in his costume, he had badly wanted out of it. Sasuke wanted to help, but Naruto had to explain that wasn't exactly what he meant. "Is…is Neji here?"

"Why?" Gaara moved so he was blocking the doorway better and narrowed his eyes. Naruto had punched Neji last night, and whatever Neji said, Gaara wasn't going to risk a repeat of the situation.

"I wanted to apologize." Naruto flushed as he spoke. "Last night, he said some things and I got upset, but…I'm glad that he said them, because it made me think, and now I…"

"Apology accepted, now go away." Neji turned over so he was facing the doorway. "Gaara, come on."

"You better _never_ do anything like that again." Gaara told him in as threatening a tone as he could muster when he kept thinking about what he'd do to Neji when he climbed back in bed with him.

"I won't, I won't, I was just kind of overcome." Naruto smiled brilliantly. "Sasuke and I are together now."

"Great, go away!" Neji repeated, extending his hands in a beckoning gesture that Naruto knew was not meant for him. Gaara glanced back at Neji, shrugged, and closed the door. Naruto felt a wave of relief sweep over him. Somehow he'd thought there would be a lot of people upset with his new relationship, but it seemed at least Neji and Gaara could care less, which meant in their weird, repressed way that they might be happy for him. It was hard to say. He went back to his room, wanting to tell his roommates about what had happened, but they were both still asleep. It wasn't _that_ early. Someone had to be awake. He considered briefly going back to bed to snuggle against Sasuke, but then he had a better idea, one that would at least expend some of his exuberant energy.

Pulling on his shoes, he nearly jogged to the café, which was just opening, and beamed in excitement when he saw Lee working, even though it was pretty clear from looking at the usually energetic young man that he was either severely ill, or severely hung over.

"Hey Lee!" he greeted, and was rewarded with a weak smile. "Too much fun last night?"

"I'm not sure, to be truthful." Lee frowned slightly. "I woke up in my bed reeking of liquor, so I suppose I must have overindulged."

"Sasuke and I are together now!" he realized he couldn't hold the truth in any longer, and Lee blinked at him in surprise.

"Truly, this is an unexpected twist in the story of Sakura and me." Lee considered. "She learns of Sasuke's preferences and turns away from him, mourning quietly and gracefully, becoming only more beautiful in the depths of youthful passion. Then my only other rival turns away from her in favor of the same man she once pursued. I am glad to see that even when I triumph, we can all be happy."

"Thanks!" Naruto beamed. "Oh, could I get two coffees and two breakfast sandwiches? And an order of hash browns to split. Sasuke's still sleeping, and I want to surprise him with breakfast in bed."

"Excellent idea." Lee nodded thoughtfully. "I should do the same for dear Sakura. Now that the path has been cleared, no offense of course, she will see as clearly as I have that this is destiny."

"Well, I wouldn't say it's _totally _clear." Naruto dug out his wallet and paid for his order. "Hey, want me to come back and help make it? I could grab an apron real quick, no one would notice."

"That would be very good of you…" Lee trailed off, staring at the coffee pot as though it held some secret truth in its opaque depths. "Naruto?"

"Uh huh?" Naruto was already frying the eggs, and Lee tossed a couple sausage patties on the grill as well while Naruto located some biscuits to split for the sandwiches.

"When you say it isn't totally clear, you talk of the pathway I am on that leads me to Sakura, and vice versa?" he asked, pulling out the hash browns and pouring a generous amount onto the grill while Naruto split the biscuits.

"Well, I just meant…I mean, maybe I was imagining things, but did you see how she was with Sai last night?" Naruto chuckled, realizing a bit too late that he wasn't really doing Sai any favors by pointing this out to Lee, who would now probably redirect his energies to defeating this new "obstacle."

"What do you mean?" Lee narrowed his eyes and poured the coffee, adding cream and sugar to Naruto's.

"Sasuke takes his black, I think." Naruto told him before he could alter the other one. "Well…never mind. It was probably nothing."

"You think this Sai has feelings for Sakura?" Lee asked.

"I don't know, I just thought they looked kind of already like a couple. Which they aren't! But they looked like it, so it was just a joke…kind of, so you don't really have to worry, because I'm sure they're just friends."

"Like Sasuke and you?" Lee flipped the sausages more violently than necessary.

"Yeah, like…no, not at all like that!" Naruto thought desperately of some way to fix this. "Like…um, like how Hinata and Sakura are friends. They're just friends!"

"Yes, because Hinata is in love with you." Lee responded bitterly, and Naruto's jaw dropped as suddenly several different things about Hinata made sense. "Besides, unless I am much mistaken, neither of them are interested in other women. Although it seems already most of our group seems to be pairing up that way."

_Maybe I shouldn't tell _everyone_ about Sasuke and I…at least not right away._

"That's not…I mean," Naruto knew that Lee didn't mean to offend him, he was just frustrated with his continued failures with Sakura, and Naruto wondered what would happen if she really did never get together with Lee. He wasn't sure she saw Lee in a romantic light at all, so it would be something of a stretch for her to decide to date him out of the blue. "Have you ever thought maybe that Sakura and you would be better off as friends?" he attempted, scooping the hash browns into a to-go container. Lee gave him a look so full of venom he thought that the other man might punch him right here in the café, but instead, he hurriedly slapped the sandwiches together and put them in with the hash browns.

"There's your food." He told Naruto. "Now go."

Naruto felt extremely guilty as he trudged back to the house, not at all as cheerful as he had been all morning. Hinata had a crush on him? And he'd made things difficult for Sai, as well. Lee was upset with him now, and Sakura probably wouldn't thank him for possibly causing more drama around her. Honestly, after everything that had already happened, she probably didn't even want a relationship anymore. He sighed heavily as he stood outside his door, thinking of Kiba, who he knew wanted desperately to get with Hinata, and seeing now why his efforts had not paid off. Blinking, he realized that he was holding the breakfast he'd meant to share with Sasuke, and he felt a surge of happiness push the sudden worries to the back of his mind as he turned down the hall and crept back into Sasuke's room. He noticed Shikamaru in his own bed and wondered when the other man had come back, because he didn't remember it at all. Sasuke was still wearing his almost-finished costume, and Naruto couldn't stop himself from chuckling as he set the food down and took off his shoes, climbing back into the bed, sitting up with his legs under the covers. Sasuke stirred, opened his eyes in alarm at the sudden presence of another person, saw Naruto, and smiled sleepily, trying to make him lie down.

"I got us breakfast." Naruto whispered, not wanting to wake Shikamaru. "And look, coffee." He held out the beverage, wafting the scent toward Sasuke, who let out a soft noise of content, yawning and forcing himself up into a sitting position.

"Wha' timesit?" he slurred sleepily, blinking as though his room in the morning was a completely alien landscape.

"Eight fifteen." Naruto craned his neck to see Sasuke's alarm clock.

"I don' think…" Sasuke yawned hugely again, and then seemed to wake up a little as he took a sip of coffee. "I don't think I've ever been awake this early on a weekend in my whole life."

"Careful, Shikamaru's sleeping." Naruto made a hushing gesture, since Sasuke was speaking at a normal volume.

"Don't worry, he'd sleep through anything." Sasuke looked with interest at the containers Naruto had lifted onto the bed. His internal hatred of crumbs in the bed was at war with his enthusiasm for the idea of breakfast in bed with Naruto. So far, the latter was winning. "Are there hash browns?"

"Yep," Naruto grinned, then realized he didn't have a fork, and looked around as though one would materialize. "And the sandwiches."

"Mmm," Sasuke would probably deny ever having mad a yummy noise if Naruto told anyone else, but he wasn't especially eager to share his private moments with the rest of his friends. "Can you get me a fork?" he asked, his eyes wide and pleading. "Bottom drawer of my nightstand."

"You have dishes in here?" Naruto was shocked to see a bowl, two plates, two cups, and several pieces of silverware. "I thought eating was outlawed in here. I was worried you wouldn't want the breakfast actually in your bed."

"I know how to eat properly." Sasuke explained primly, and then scooped a huge forkful of steaming hash browns into his mouth, somewhat undermining the believability of his claim. "Thanks." He spoke after he had swallowed the food, and Naruto felt warm all over. Two weeks ago, he would never have thought he might change his mind and get together with Sasuke, but now he was glad he had. The thought of him going his whole life without thinking he could be this way with another man, never giving Sasuke the chance he so desperately wanted…it was unthinkable now.

_How is it that I took so long to see this?_

"This is nice." He told Sasuke, leaning over kiss the corner of his mouth, immediately distracting the other from his breakfast. "Thanks for not just giving up on my stupid stubborn self."

"How could I?" Sasuke asked. "No one else can make me feel this way."

"Oh," Naruto flushed, not sure what he could possibly say to something like that. Sasuke was guarded, but he was also so intense. It was like there was a wall, and once you were able to get inside of it, every emotion was concentrated and flooding, bursting forth, eager to finally be seen and felt. Naruto thought anything he could say would seem watered down in comparison. "Do you think anyone noticed last night?" he changed the subject to something he felt he could probably manage at reasonably well.

"What?" Sasuke was still devouring the hash browns, and Naruto decided he enjoyed watching him eat more than he actually wanted any for himself.

"That you never showed up. That I was gone the whole night from my own party." Naruto shrugged. "It wouldn't be hard to put two and two together. I found out from Kiba that everyone knew you had a thing for me, anyway, so it wouldn't be too much of a stretch for them to see what happened."

"So?" Sasuke shoved over the hash browns to a vaguely surprised Naruto, who had thought that Sasuke would probably bite him if he tried to get any of them. "I don't care if anyone knows. Do you?"

"Well," Naruto sighed. "I mean, this morning, I wanted to tell everyone. I wanted to like…post bulletins all around campus, and stuff like that. I told Neji and Gaara when I went to apologize for hitting Neji, and then when I got our breakfast, I told Lee."

"And?" Sasuke could tell that there was something going on, and he would wait until Naruto came out with it already. "Now do you still want to tell everyone? Did someone say something about it? Because I can—"

"No!" Naruto waved his hands, seeing where Sasuke's thoughts were leading. "No, they all seemed happy for us. Well, Neji just wanted Gaara to go back to bed…but yeah, I mean, you know how they are. But Lee said something that made me think maybe it's not the best idea to tell _everyone_."

"What did he say?" Sasuke bit into his sandwich viciously, wondering if he was going to have to beat the crap out of Lee.

"He said…Hinata's in…he said she has a crush on me." He toned the language down a bit, not wanting Sasuke to go charging down the hall and punching Hinata, of all people. He wasn't sure Sasuke would go that far, but he also wasn't sure he _wouldn't_ go that far. "And then there's Ino, Ino still really likes you, right? I mean, Sakura seems like she's moved on, and Kiba and I were saying she might actually…well, I just mean, don't you think they'd be a little upset if we told them? Maybe…we should try to break it to them gently, you know?"

"Why?" Sasuke scowled. Hinata, huh? He couldn't trust any of those damn Hyuugas. "What's the point of letting them think they have a chance when they don't? Besides, I've already told Ino I'm gay _several_ times, and I don't think her walking in on you and me having sex would make her believe it, so honestly, I'm really not concerned with how she'll feel about it."

"Oh," Naruto flushed brilliantly red at Sasuke's words. "But they're our friends. And Hinata isn't quite as…pushy as Ino. I don't want to hurt her feelings."

"So now it's a secret?" Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Some secret. Shikamaru knows, who knows who else he told. Neji and Gaara never talk to anyone, so that's pretty safe, but Lee knows, too. You better break it to her gently pretty fast, or she'll just find out from the gossip train. As soon as Kiba or Kankurou or Ino finds out, everyone will know."

"Fine, I'll tell her today." Naruto sighed, feeling unaccountably nervous. "But I'll tell her by myself."

"What?" Sasuke asked suspiciously.

"I'm not going to _do_ anything with her." Naruto could tell what Sasuke was worried about. "I just…don't think you could resist saying something cruel, and I really don't want to hurt her feelings any more than I have to, okay?"

"I can be gentle." Sasuke grumbled, and Naruto leaned over, kissing him softly.

"I know." He whispered, and Sasuke suddenly wasn't that annoyed anymore.

--

"I am so happy you have visited." Hinata was beaming at him, her cheeks pinked with pleasure as she poured tea for both of them. "Would you like some cookies?"

"Oh, sure." Naruto was trying not to be nervous, and also trying not to wish that Sasuke was here with him. He was not afraid of her…he just…didn't like being mean to people, and he wasn't sure what would happen after he broke the news to her. He couldn't help wishing that someone else was here, but he knew that would just make it harder on her.

"You left the party so quickly last night." She put down the plate of cookies after he grabbed one, chewing at it nervously. "I hope we were not bothering you."

"No, no not at all!" Naruto assured her. "No, I just…had something I had to do."

"Well, that makes sense." She nodded. "We are all college students, and we have many things we must do."

"Yeah." He nodded, licking his lips and taking a deep breath. "Look, Hinata, I came here to tell you something."

"R…really?" she set her tea down, her hands shaking as she did. "What did you want to tell me?"

"First of all," he sat up as straight as possible, setting his own tea down as well. "I want you to know that I think you're really…well, I think you're really awesome, and really nice and a lot of fun to hang out with and stuff, and I really like being friends with you."

"Yes, I feel the same way." She beamed, her cheeks glowing with excitement.

"And I want you to know that your support means a lot to me, because…well, I really think you know a lot, and if you think something is good, that means it is." He told her. "Which is why I'm really hoping you'll be happy when I tell you that I'm dating Sasuke."

"Oh!" the shock was clear on her face, and her posture changed, but it was a mark of how she was raised that she recovered herself with grace. "That is…very good news." She smiled at him, but he could see that she was forcing it.

"Hinata…oh, come on!" he threw up his hands. "Don't fake it! Look, I'm really sorry, but I thought maybe if it came from me, it wouldn't seem so bad, because I heard you maybe…were interested in me, and I really _do_ love hanging out with you, and I don't want you to hate me. So please don't be upset, okay?"

"I…I am pleased for you." She told him, her voice wavering.

"If it makes you feel better, Kiba has a monster crush on you." Naruto told her, not really knowing what he was supposed to say. She giggled at that, but it sounded dangerously close to a sob, and Naruto stood up, extending his arms. "Come on, then."

"Wh…what?" she asked, wiping tears from her eyes.

"Just," he hefted her up and embraced her so suddenly she felt all the air rush out of her. She gasped at the unexpected gesture, but as she let herself sink into his arms, she realized that she was clutching at him, and the tears came then, thick and strong. "It's okay."

"I'm sorry." She told him after awhile, and he held her at arm's length, giving her a sad smile. "I really want you to be happy."

"I want you to be happy, too." He told her. "I'm sorry that I couldn't—"

"Hush," she shook her head. "You can't control these things. You are very lucky if you have found someone you care about who cares about you. I know that Sasuke cares a great deal for you. I have seen the way he is around you, and I know that if I cannot have you, there is no one I would rather trust you to."

"Thanks." He kissed her forehead and she gave him a watery smile. "So, still friends?"

"Of course." She assured him, sniffling slightly.

"I was serious about Kiba, by the way. You should look into that." Naruto told her, winking and leaving the room. Hinata sat down, ready to be overcome with tears, but found that she felt strangely peaceful. Naruto was a very good man, and she had seen that from the first time she met him, but that did not mean she could not live without him. There were other good men in the world, she could always find someone else.

She sighed softly and picked up her tea, sipping at it thoughtfully.

_Kiba?_

_He is a good man, as well._

_Perhaps, with time…_

--

"This is completely unacceptable." Ino slammed her door shut and threw herself onto her bed dramatically. Tenten glanced up from her books, waiting for her roommate to continue, which of course, she did. "I mean, right from the very first moment I saw him, I knew that I was meant to be with Sasuke, and I've done _everything_ to make sure he could see that too! I've been wearing my most respectable outfits, then that didn't work so I wore my most respectable but still alluring outfits, and then _that_ didn't work, so I cut straight to the most alluring outfits, and all I've managed to do is make his roommate ogle me! I made him food, I visited him, I walked him home, walked him to class, let him see how interesting I am, asked him about himself, I just…I just don't know what more he wants from me!"

"A dick?" Tenten muttered, and Ino shot her a venomous glare. "What? I mean, he's gay, right?"

"You're thinking so small." Ino snorted. "Honestly, it's no wonder you don't have a boyfriend yet."

"Neither do you." Tenten frowned. "And who said I want a boyfriend?"

"Of course you do." Ino rolled her eyes. "What, your life's ambition is to be a ball-busting lawyer with no husband, no kids, and like, ten cats?"

"Why are you angry at me?" Tenten asked. "I mean, he _told_ you he was gay! He's dating Naruto now. Who's a _guy!_ Which is generally what gay men are after! I don't see why you have to get pissy with me about it!"

"Tenten, I'm going to show you!" she told her roommate in a sharp tone. "You'll see that no matter _what_ anyone says, you can always get what you want!"

"He's already—" Ino stormed out of the room, and Tenten sighed softly. "dating Naruto." She finished, rolled here eyes, and turned back to her book. She attempted to read for ten minutes before getting up, leaving the room, and wandering down the hall. She knocked on Shino's door, telling herself that Ino's comments hadn't bothered her at all. She just…needed to spend time with someone who wasn't constantly plotting an impossible infiltration of Sasuke's pants.

"Hello." Shino answered the door. "Would you like to come in?"

"Yes," she felt herself relax as she passed through the door. She looked around, able to see the different terrariums and containers with their inhabitants much better now that the lights were on and she wasn't trying to get Lee into his bed while also making sure he didn't puke on her. "Thanks, I'm just really…needed to stop studying for a bit, I guess."

"You're welcome here." He told her. "Did you want to see my pets?" he asked, and she nodded, expecting him to show her each one, but instead, he gestured forward, and she moved close, looking at the various insects and arachnids contained within them.

"How long have you had these?" she asked, and Shino shrugged as she peered into a cage full of twigs and walking sticks, trying to see which bits were alive, and which weren't.

"I started collecting when I was five." He told her. "I brought home a spider. My mother screamed and told me to get rid of it. I kept it in a jar under my bed."

"So, how do you feed them?" she asked. "I mean, the ones that aren't herbivores. Can you like, go buy a bunch of flies or whatever?"

"The carnivorous ones have slitted roofs to allow feed insects in. However, if I notice that one of them is sluggish, I can always purchase crickets from the pet store. Luckily, the smaller ones don't eat much, as I'm not positive they could kill a cricket without being severely injured."

"Do any of them have special needs?" she asked, turning to face him. "Like, do you need to keep their cages a certain temperature?"

"No." he answered. "To me, entomology is the study of the world's most sturdy and diverse life forms. They have purposes that many people find disgusting, but without them, the world would suffer terribly. People will say that an insect has no purpose, because its purpose does not specifically serve humans, but the world is made up of more than that."

"That…was very poetic," she smiled. "I don't think I've ever heard someone so passionate about insects before."

"There are arachnids here as well." He pointed out, and she took a step closer to him.

"Of course." She reached up and pulled off his sunglasses. "Are you sensitive to the light?"

"Yes." He told her. "It's a slight defect. My eye doctor advised me to always wear UV protective lenses to protect my vision."

"And your skin?" she asked, touching the zipper of his nearly always present coat, the collar of which ended at his nose.

"I burn very very easily." He told her. "It is related."

"Do your eyes hurt right now?" she asked, dangling the shades in one hand, and he blinked at her, his eyes a pale blue like ice that seemed completely unreal to her.

"I try to use lamps with low wattage bulbs." He explained. "Since the shades are drawn, I am not bothered simply by the light in here. I wear them at all times so that I never forget, because when I do, it is painful, and potentially dangerous."

"Does everything look different with them off?" she asked.

"Brighter." He answered. He paused, reached up, and unzipped the coat, setting it to one side. He was wearing a long sleeve shirt, but the sight of his face, completely uncovered, only the second time she had seen him this way, caused Tenten to shudder. "Is this what you want?"

"I…I don't know what you mean." She flushed deeply, and he reached forward, touching her red cheek as though he couldn't believe it was real.

"You look so warm." He told her, and when she was left speechless, he pulled his hand away again, looking down at his white fingers as though her heat might have burned him. "I like you." He told her, and Tenten was struck dumb once more. "We should have a date. If that seems agreeable to you."

"I…no one's ever just…just like that…" she stuttered, feeling completely wrong footed. Part of her knew, this was what she had wanted, but to see him turn to her so easily, so swiftly, completely threw her off.

"Have I done it wrong?" he asked, brow furrowing. "If you would prefer not to do that, we can be friends. You can visit my friends and I any time you wish, either way."

"Th—thanks." She looked up at him, and seized with a sudden determination, went on tiptoe, pecking him on the cheek before turning to flee the room.

Later, Tenten couldn't even remember why she'd first gone to Shino's room.

--

To be continued…


	13. Chapter 13

Everything in Between

Everything in Between

Chapter 13

--

"Hey, Naruto." Sakura smiled at the blonde as he tied on his apron for his shift in the café. "How's everything going?"

"Um…it's okay." Naruto was thrown a little off balance by her sudden openly friendly attitude. Sakura had been guarded around him since he had first known her, and to get her in a good mood like this before, he had to spend quite some time trying to trick her into being nice to him, in a way. "How's everything for you?"

"Pretty good!" she nodded sharply. "I totally aced my midterm in chemistry, which was the only one I was even worried about, so that was awesome."

"Oh yeah?" he looked at her warily, trying to decide what was happening here. Was she going to hit him, or was she trying to trick him into…something? He couldn't see why she would do that. Sakura was a good person, which was why he liked her so much. "You're in a good mood today." He ventured. "Usually you don't talk to me at all until you forget you're supposed to ignore me."

"Oh…oh, well." Sakura flushed as she put together a sandwich for a customer and set it up on the counter. "I'm sorry about that, I've been kind of…well, I've been a big pain in the ass, to tell the truth."

"I don't think—"

"No, I really have." She sighed, leaning back against the counter. "I mean, it took me a while to see what I was doing wasn't okay. I was just…so preoccupied with Sasuke, that I thought that you were just messing with my chances with him. Like, he'd see us together, and be like 'oh well, guess she's taken,' and ignore me. But when I found out he wasn't ever going to be interested, I started to see…well, I'm just really sorry about how I was with you. I really should have said yes to you. You're a really good guy."

"Too late now." He shrugged, strangely not feeling any regret. "I'm taken now."

"Isn't it a little weird how things ended up?" she laughed. "I mean, you were after me, I was after Sasuke, the whole time he wanted you, and now the two of you are together."

"Which leaves you." Naruto frowned. "Hey, what about Sai?"

"What?" she asked, feeling the blood rush to her cheeks. "What about Sai?"

"You guys seem to be getting along really well, and he's a really nice guy." Naruto explained. "Kiba and I noticed when you came to the Halloween party together. I thought you guys might be...you know, going somewhere." He explained.

"_Is it still dangerous?" Sai leaned toward her in the dark, his hand enveloping hers, his breath hot on her neck._

"_Let's wait a bit…just to be sure." Sakura squeezed his hand, trying not to think about how this felt, how it might seem if someone were to see them at that moment._

"I…well, we're friends." Sakura tried to fight the blush she knew must be apparent by now. "I mean, I guess I didn't really think of him as…and I'm really busy with classes! I don't need a boyfriend, anyway. I need to concentrate on school."

"Sure." Naruto shrugged, smiling knowingly at the pink-cheeked girl. "But you know, you should think about it. Cause I really think you guys would be a good couple."

"Just because you're with someone doesn't mean you need to match up all your friends." Sakura stuck her tongue out and he laughed, dodging the towel she tried to hit him with.

"You look busy." Naruto looked up at once when he heard the familiar voice, and he immediately smiled at Sasuke, who was standing at the counter watching their antics with an unreadable expression.

"Hi, Sasuke!" Naruto waved happily. "Sakura says I need to stop trying to find her a boyfriend."

"If she wants one, she could date Lee. He seems eager." Sasuke raised one eyebrow. "Naruto, I need to talk to you in private."

"Oh! Sakura, is it okay if I duck into the back room for a few minutes?" he asked Sakura, who nodded agreeably.

"Sasuke, I haven't had a chance to congratulate you, yet." She smiled at him. "You better take good care of Naruto."

"Hn." Sasuke nodded at her, vaguely surprised at how much she had changed her attitude toward him since they first met. He wished Ino could learn from her example.

"What did you need to talk about?" Naruto asked as Sasuke followed him into the back room, closing the door behind him. "Is this about how I left my socks on the ground? Cause I couldn't find them, so I _know_ they're probably in there somewhere, and for some reason—" he was cut off as Sasuke pushed him against the wall, kissing him like he had been starving for the sensation all day. Naruto melted into the kiss, his hands immediately going up to tangle in the taller man's hair as he felt Sasuke's hands grip his hips pulling himself closer so that Naruto felt dizzy with the pressure of his legs against Sasuke's, his hips and chest, everything, pressing into Sasuke. He could feel the heat of Sasuke's skin through the layers of cloth that separated them, and it made him feel like he was on fire.

"Mm, Sasuke," he breathed as the other man kissed and sucked at his neck, one hand moving up and around to the small of his back, the other sneaking under the apron, fingers splayed over Naruto's stomach under his shirt. "What's…got you so excited?"

"I've had a long day," Sasuke told him. "I want you now."

"I get off in an hour." He told Sasuke. "I can't just leave."

"You don't have to." Sasuke's hand moved, the fingers inching lower, slipping under Naruto's waistband, cupping him gently. "We can do it right here."

"I…" Naruto realized with a sense of panic exactly what Sasuke was talking about and pushed him away. "I'm sorry, I have to work right now! I'll…see you later!" he quickly straightened his clothes as best he could and escaped into the café. Sasuke growled and kicked a chair, left to wait out the erection burning in his pants. He wasn't going out there so everyone could see. What had he done wrong? He thought that Naruto had wanted it, too. He'd certainly _felt_ excited when he had reached inside his pants. Struggling with himself, Sasuke breathed deeply and tried not to worry about it too much.

He knew that Naruto felt the same as he did, or at least, it did seem that way. They'd been together for just over a week, and whenever things would get heated, Sasuke could usually feel him becoming aroused, he could see the way Naruto's eyes would dilate, his cheeks pink, his lips redden and swell. He could hear the noises the blonde would make, and feel the urgency in his kisses. But every time Sasuke tried to take things further, Naruto would completely clam up, as though he didn't want Sasuke at all. Every time that happened, he couldn't help remembering Naruto's reaction when he had first kissed him, right in this very room.

_He says he was just surprised…but he looked like he was disgusted._

Maybe he was just coming to terms with his attraction to other men. It had taken Sasuke a while to accept at first, especially considering…circumstances. It still worried him, though. He couldn't help the sting he felt, and despite the fact hat it seemed there could be no way Naruto knew about his past, it made Sasuke afraid of ever telling him.

_Imagine how he'll look at me then._

"_Why are you crying? You looked happy a minute ago."_

Sasuke shuddered, pushing the bad thoughts away. He couldn't risk what would happen if Naruto knew all about that. How could he ever see Sasuke the same? What little chance he had with the pure-hearted blonde would be destroyed.

--

Ino had thought for quite some time about how best to win Sasuke back, and had decided finally that the oldest advice could sometimes be the very best.

Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.

"Hey guys!" she cheerfully entered Kiba's room, the door to which was almost always open, even after the inhabitants were asleep. This meant that people often entered without knocking, as they felt it was an invitation. She supposed, considering the people who lived here, it probably was. "How's things?"

"Hey Ino," Chouji looked up from where he was typing a lab report, notes strewn around him in a chaotic organizational mass that probably made sense to him. "Got this one done yet?"

"Ages ago, of course." She winked at him. They were in the same lab section, and she often partnered with him, partially because he was someone she knew, and partially because he had no problem doing things she didn't want to. "Wanna look it over?"

"Maybe…I think I can get this one finished soon." He shrugged, and she giggled at his insistence on not copying her work.

"Hey Naruto," she flopped down on his bed as though choosing it at random. "What are you working on?" she rolled on her stomach and peered at the book he was poring over.

"I'm doing research for a report." He told her, closing the book just as she'd expected. "Are you bored, Ino?"

"Yessss," she flopped back and moaned, her hand going to her forehead melodramatically. "Study break?" she asked, and he chuckled, nodding.

"Chouji, you coming?" he asked, and Chouji looked up from his notes, frowning slightly at his computer before shaking his head. "I'll bring you some brain food, okay?"

"Thanks!" Chouji called out, and Naruto grabbed a sweatshirt on their way out.

"Want to go get food?" Naruto asked her, and she nodded.

"Sure! Lemme grab a jacket, it's chilly out." She pranced away, feeling extremely triumphant. Phase One: Get Naruto Alone and Make Sure he Trusts You was going very well! "Okay, I'm ready!" she rejoined her companion, and they headed down the stairs and outside. "What do you want to eat?"

"Mmm, not really hungry, but Chouji always is." Naruto shrugged, and she laughed. "Want to go get some coffee at the café?" he suggested, and she nodded eagerly.

"Sure!" she put her arm through his as they strolled toward the student commons, and sighed happily. "You know, I feel like we barely ever get a chance to hang out outside of parties, Naruto. It's a shame."

"You can always come hang out." He smiled brightly.

"But you aren't always there!" she pouted. "I mean, especially since you started spending most of your time with Sasuke."

"Oh…well, you know." Naruto flushed slightly. "I hope there aren't any hard feelings about that, Ino."

"Not at all!" she giggled. "I've been over him for ages, I just think it's funny to see him squirm." She winked. "Don't tell him I said that, though."

"Evil," Naruto laughed as they entered the building.

"So how is everything going for you two?" she asked in her most innocent tone. "Must be great, still in the honeymoon stages, right?"

"Oh, yeah…he's really great." Naruto smiled softly as they reached the counter, and she gallantly paid for both their coffees and a sandwich for Chouji. Lee was working, and he gave them a thumbs up before rushing to prepare their order. "I mean…he puts up this wall, tries to seem so cold, but if you break through it…he's so intense! I mean, maybe I'm just not used to it because I've never really dated before, but he's so…so focused on me, like I'm the center of everything, and he makes me feel…"

"It sounds great." Ino gritted before recovering her cheer as they picked up their order and thanked Lee, sitting at a nearby table to sip their hot beverages. "So, you've really never dated before?"

"Nope." He admitted. "I was pretty unpopular in high school, to tell the truth."

"I can't imagine why. You're so awesome, Naruto!" she beamed, and he flushed at the compliment. "So I bet there's a lot of stuff you're kind of worried about, right? Because, I mean…well, I assume you're a virgin."

"Yes!" Naruto hissed, sounding relieved to be able to tell someone about his one insecurity when it came to Sasuke. "Yes…and I just…I don't know how to tell Sasuke! I mean, he was having sex with Neji and they weren't even dating! He probably knows all about it, probably he's been doing it for years! What's he going to think if he finds out I have no clue?"

"Oh yeah, that can be a big problem." She nodded knowingly. "I knew a girl, and she'd been dating this guy for over a year before they first had sex, and since she didn't really know what to do…well, he ended up breaking up with her. It happens all the time. People will _tell_ you it doesn't matter at all, but it's really serious! I mean, think about it, what if you hurt him? That can happen really easily, and then he'll pick up and look for someone with more experience, someone who can give him what he needs."

"What should I do?" he asked her, terrified to have all his fears confirmed.

"Well, there are a few things you could try." She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Oh, you could read about it, I guess, try to figure out from pictures and stuff…although you know, the practice isn't really anything like the theory." She paused thoughtfully. "You could just keep it secret from him and I mean…_try_ to figure it out when he eventually forces you to do it…because I mean, eventually, he will. Or…oh, you could practice!" she clapped her hands together as though the idea had been an epiphany of brilliant insight.

"What do you mean?" Naruto narrowed his eyes. "How am I supposed to practice?" he asked.

"Duh, with other guys you _don't_ care about." She rolled her eyes. "We could go to a gay bar and pick up someone random. Or you could get a prostitute. It doesn't count as cheating if you're paying the person."

"What?" Naruto seemed extremely doubtful of this. "How does it make it better if I'm _paying_ them?"

"Because, that's their job, and they're just providing a service. Like a piano teacher! But…you know, with sex." She explained. "That's really what they're for."

"But…I don't want to have sex with someone other than Sasuke." He told her. "I want my first time to be…really special. Not like with a hooker in some seedy motel."

"It doesn't count as your first time with a hooker! It's practice for the real thing." She told him knowingly.

"I'd rather try it with him and hope for the best." Naruto told her. "I mean, it can't be _that_ bad! Everything else we do feels great, so…"

"That's because you're doing easy stuff!" she warned him. "I'm telling you, do you really think Sasuke would rather you tear him up because you don't have a clue, or have you take a couple practice runs with someone who doesn't even _count_? I mean, it's pretty obvious if you think about it."

"I just…I mean, it doesn't seem right to me." Naruto stood up, feeling very weary. "Maybe I just don't have it in me to be a good boyfriend after all."

"It's a lot of work." Ino agreed. "You have to make a lot of sacrifices if you want to make him happy."

"Yeah." Naruto was silent on the way home, and Ino felt jubilant. She had no idea what Naruto would do wit her advice, but the sudden dip in his self-confidence certainly wouldn't make him more fun for Sasuke to be around. She'd count today as a victory.

--

"Good lord, Naruto, what is up with you today?" Sakura shook her head as the distracted boy had to get the mop once more. He'd dropped several things so far, and she wasn't sure she wanted him doing _anything_ for the rest of his shift. He made a face that looked so completely heartbroken, she automatically felt bad for scolding him, and rushed to his side instead, putting a hand to his cheek so he'd look at her. "Hey, come on."

"But we can't just…" he looked around.

"Lee, you're in charge!" Sakura shouted, and Lee saluted her as she led Naruto to the back room. "Okay, now what's up?" she demanded once the door was closed. "Are you and Sasuke having a fight or something?"

"No…not yet." He told her, and she scowled at the cryptic response.

"Not yet? Are you planning on one?" she asked jokingly, and he sighed heavily, causing her to narrow her eyes at him in suspicion. "Did he do something to you?"

"No…no, he just waits and waits, and I can't…" Naruto let out a sob, and Sakura hugged him at once, not hesitating at the sight of him in tears. "I'm so immature."

"You're just upset, everyone gets upset sometimes." She assured him, letting him go when he pulled back and wiped his eyes. "Now just tell me what the problem is, and we'll figure it out together, okay? It can't be that bad that there's no solution."

"I feel like…" Naruto sighed and began again. "Sakura, have you ever had a boyfriend?"

"Uh…yes, a couple in high school." She admitted. "Nothing too serious."

"Did you ever feel…like maybe they wanted you to do something, but that maybe you wouldn't really…be able to and they'd just…they'd just leave you?" he asked, sniffling and wiping away a stray tear.

"Naruto, are you a virgin?" she asked him after a long silence. He nodded, and she nodded as well. "Well, I mean, after what happened, I guess we all know Sasuke isn't, but that's no reason to get so worried! He really cares about you, and even though I'm sure he thinks you're beautiful, and he wants to do those things with you, I don't think he would ever _leave_ you just because you're a virgin! Honestly, with how possessive he gets sometimes, it's probably a good thing you are, otherwise he'd want to hunt down everyone you've ever slept with and take them out." She joked, and he laughed weakly. "Sex isn't a deal breaker, and if it is, that means that you're with someone who never really cared about _you_, and that's not a relationship that will ever go anywhere. Look at Gaara and Neji! You see how much they care about each other. Do you think that would all stop if they weren't having sex, or if it wasn't amazing like _one_ time?"

"I don't know, they do it like three times a day." Naruto pointed out, and they both laughed at that. He sniffled, giving her a watery smile. "I want to believe that…but I mean, Ino said that she knows people who have broken up after dating a long time because the sex wasn't good, and I just couldn't risk…"

"Ino said that?" Sakura's warning flag was up at once. "What else did she say?"

"She said the only good way to work it out was to practice with someone else first." Naruto told Sakura. "She said I should get a prostitute, cause they're meant to teach you how so that you don't mess it up when you do it with the person you care about."

"Okay." Sakura had to take a deep breath to contain the rage that was suddenly building within her. "Ino is a vicious snake, and she wants to fuck up everything you have with Sasuke, because she's suffering under the delusion that she can win him over still. Don't ever take any advice from her ever again."

"She…but she said she was over him." Naruto was confused. Ino was purposefully giving him bad advice? Why would she do that? Weren't they friends?

"She lied." Sakura told him. "I can guarantee you Sasuke wouldn't think sex with a hooker 'doesn't count.' He'd probably go flay the hooker for defiling you."

"I thought it sounded wrong, but then I thought…I mean, I've never been in a relationship before, and I thought maybe…she said you have to make sacrifices, and that made sense." He was struggling between elation that he wouldn't have to do something so horrible, and despair that Ino had done something like that to him.

"Naruto, you have to believe me." Sakura went on tiptoes and kissed his cheek. "You are a very good person, and when you think something is wrong, that probably means it is. If you care about Sasuke, and he cares about you, it doesn't matter if things are a little awkward at first. No one is perfect, but to _him_, no matter how it really is, it will be perfect, because it's with _you_. Do you see what I'm saying?"

"Thanks, Sakura." He felt like crying all over again. "That makes me feel a lot better…I just couldn't get over the feeling that I had to choose between losing him because I did it wrong, and losing him because I was sleeping with other people."

"Just tell him you're a virgin." She told him. "I bet he's been wondering why you don't want to have sex this whole time." She pointed out. "You two have been dating nearly a month, and it would make a lot more sense to him if he knew how important it was. You have to talk about these things!"

"Oh…I didn't think of that!" Naruto paled. "What if he thinks I don't want him?"

"Exactly! Just tell him the truth. He cares so much about you, he'll understand." She explained. "He doesn't want to hurt you, either. Believe me."

"Is it okay if I leave early?" he was already untying his apron, and she smiled, reaching up to ruffle his hair.

"I'll cover for you." She hugged him again, and he kissed her cheek.

"Thanks!" he ran out of the café, ignoring the strange looks he received as he raced all the way home, barely feeling out of breath as he climbed the stairs, turned down the hallway, and threw open the door to Sasuke's room without knocking. Sasuke was working on a problem set on his bed, Shikamaru was sitting on his own bed typing up a paper. At Naruto's entrance, Sasuke slammed his book shut and stood up, seeing how flushed his boyfriend looked, knowing that he had clearly run here.

"Is everything okay?" Sasuke looked ready to strike if assassins suddenly came running in, but instead, Naruto ran at him, kissing him hard as they tumbled back to the bed, Sasuke's physics book digging into his back.

"Hey…still here." Shikamaru glanced up from his computer before he continued to type. "Maybe do that somewhere people aren't working."

"I love you." Naruto hadn't meant to say that, hadn't planned on it, but there it was, all the same. He knew it was true as he heard the words leave his mouth, and he wondered if he was going to start crying, if Sasuke would laugh at him, or if he'd wipe the tears away.

"Stillllll here." Shikamaru coughed loudly, and Sasuke used the distraction as an opportunity to toss his book to the ground.

"Shikamaru, get out." Sasuke told him very firmly, staring at Naruto, feeling completely overwhelmed by the effect those words had on him.

"Oh yeah, I forgot, it's make out time." Shikamaru grumbled. "Says so clearly on the calendar. I'll just do work elsewhere." He slammed the door, which was a lot more effort than Shikamaru usually ever put into anything.

"I love you." Naruto repeated, and Sasuke felt as though he were being immersed in a pure joy, so thick and warm he felt he could happily drown in it. For a moment, he flashed back to another time, another place, another person.

"_I love you," his voice was pleading, desperate. "Please…I love you."_

"_Idiot, you thought I felt the same?" dark eyes laughed at him. "You're sick."_

_I wanted you to say it back…that's all I ever wanted, and when I finally realized you never would…I thought I could never feel the same way again. I thought I'd died inside, and would be a shell of a person for the rest of my life. I never thought I'd meet someone who could make me forget that pain, make me feel something so much stronger…so much better than what I felt for you._

_I never thought I'd learn what it was like to love someone who actually loved me back. Someone who wanted me to be happy, not someone who wanted to make me cry. That's all you ever wanted, I think._

"I love you, too." Sasuke spoke, clinging to Naruto, trying to make the happiness completely crush all the pain he'd ever felt, wishing it would destroy his past, and wash away every disappointment, every mistake, and leave him filled with nothing but this amazing feeling, so strong he almost believed he could stay this way forever.

"I wanted to tell you," Naruto began, a little surprised by the moisture he could see in Sasuke's eyes, the vehemence in his words, the intensity of his gaze. "I should have told you from the start, but I didn't realize the way it would seem, and I thought you'd be disappointed if you knew."

"What?" Sasuke asked, brushing the bangs away from Naruto's forehead, kissing the corner of his lip.

"I'm a virgin." Naruto told him abruptly. "And I do want you! But I don't know what to do, and I wanted it to be special and everything, and I just thought…I'd mess it up, so whenever you started…"

"That's why!" Sasuke was suddenly so relieved, he felt he could fly. "I thought you were disgusted at the thought…I didn't know if you were just trying to come to terms with it, and I thought maybe…"

"No, I'm not disgusted." Naruto shook his head, and they were both laughing, as though the happiness was too great, and they had to release some lest they explode. "I want you too. Can't you tell? I'm just…well, I'm a little afraid of what could happen, and I don't know…well, anything! I thought I'd get hurt, or you would, and then you'd be disappointed that I couldn't do it the way Neji could, and you'd leave me, and I just…"

"I'd rather have you kiss me one time than have Neji fuck me a hundred times." Sasuke told him. "You're the one I want, only you. I don't care if you can't even figure out which end goes where, I just…you make me happy. No one else has ever made me happy. I don't care if you're never ready, as long as you stay with me, I'd wait. And if you are…we can go slow, and I promise nothing bad will happen, and even if it's a complete disaster, we'll lay here together and laugh about it, and then we'll try again, and eventually, we'll get it right. But even if we never do…I love you."

"I was so worried!" Naruto collapsed in a heap on Sasuke, and the dark-haired young man took it on himself to revive his boyfriend, kissing all along his neck on one side, and then the other, unable to repress the smile that came to his lips as Naruto started to make soft noises every time he pressed a kiss to the column. "Sakura told me you wouldn't care."

"Sakura's smart." Sasuke told him, and he rolled so they were laying side by side, looking at each other. Sasuke felt like he could stare at Naruto all day and night without ever growing bored. Just looking at him seemed to soothe his soul in a way nothing else could.

"I ran out half an hour before the end of my shift after she talked to me." Naruto explained. "I had to see you."

"I'm glad you're here." Sasuke told him, kissing him softly, slowly. "I'm glad I met you."

"Me too." Naruto sighed happily. They lay together kissing, and gradually, pieces of clothing seemed to find their way to the ground until they were both in their underwear, grinding against each other, but this time, Naruto didn't feel afraid. He knew that Sasuke wouldn't push, because Sasuke had said so, and that was good enough for him. When Sasuke pushed him on his back and scooted down the bed, Naruto did not worry about what might happen next. And when Sasuke took him in his mouth and sucked him off, it felt amazing, and even though Naruto didn't think he was quite ready to do that as well, he felt confident enough to work Sasuke off, which the other seemed to appreciate very much, and Naruto found himself thinking that this was easy, and so natural, and simple, and wondering how he could have been afraid of all this, because it was Sasuke, after all, and it was true…even if it was a disaster, they would probably have just laughed about it, and tried again.

Afterwards, Sasuke grabbed a towel and wiped up Naruto's stomach, where most of his juices had ended up, and they kissed, and Naruto could taste his essence on Sasuke's tongue, but it wasn't gross, it was…just the way things should be. He was just thinking that even though this was great, they would eventually need to get up for food when the door opened, and Shikamaru actually shrieked at the sight of Sasuke and Naruto completely nude, limbs entangled, kissing in bed. Naruto was shocked and tried to hide, but Sasuke just seemed annoyed. Although he was probably used to people seeing him naked at this point.

"For the love of…lock the door for that!" Shikamaru covered his face with his laptop. "Please put clothes on. I need the printer."

"Try knocking." Sasuke rolled his eyes, moving the blanket to cover both Naruto and himself. "Print and leave."

"Aren't you done?" Shikamaru grumbled, seeing that instead of putting clothes on, they had simply covered their nudity with a blanket, and trying not to think too hard of what could be going on _under_ that blanket. "You can't just lie in bed all day. You have to eat and go to class."

"It's Friday." Sasuke pointed out. "Naruto, should we order in?"

"I hate you both." Shikamaru grumbled as he made use of the printer and stormed out of the room again.

"You shouldn't be so mean to him." Naruto pointed out. "What if he gets a girlfriend and decides to get even with you?"

"He doesn't want a girlfriend, he said." Sasuke replied. "You didn't answer my question, though. Should we order in?"

"Hmm," Naruto had to admit, the idea of just staying in bed with Sasuke seemed very tempting, but he didn't want to completely alienate Shikamaru. "We should go out. Like a date."

"Do I need to buy you flowers?" Sasuke deadpanned, and Naruto laughed, clambering out of bed and locating articles of clothing.

"Nope, I'm a cheap date." Naruto advised him. "Maybe I'll get _you_ some flowers. You are the pretty one, after all."

"Smart ass." Sasuke grumbled, pulling clothes on rather reluctantly. "After dinner, can we go back to bed?"

"We should watch a movie! That's what you do on dates!" Naruto seemed excited, and Sasuke let out a heavy sigh, feeling that he would _never_ get back into the bed with Naruto.

"What if we rent one?" Sasuke attempted to compromise, which he felt sure he could do if he just tried it. "And we can watch it on my laptop, in bed."

"Or we can watch it in my room!" Naruto pulled on his shoes. "Yeah! Let's do that!"

"Fine." Sasuke decided to pretend he was defeated. In fact, he knew that the real defeat would belong to Kiba and Chouji, who would have to leave the room unless they wanted to see Naruto mid-orgasm. He would let Naruto think he had won this time. Compromise was important when you were in love, wasn't it?

--

To be continued…


	14. Chapter 14

Everything in Between

Everything in Between

Chapter 14

--

"Hey, Sa—" Ino's greeting was cut short by a slap across the face so sharp she tasted blood and saw spots.

"Sakura?" Tenten had been reading a book, but she dropped it when she saw the confrontation going on in her doorway. "What's going on?"

"You…stay…away…from…them." Sakura hissed, turned on her heel, and walked away without further comment as Ino was left dazed, clutching at her face.

"Tenten…get me ice." Ino began to worry she would have a bruise, which really wouldn't help her cause at all.

"What's going on?" Tenten repeated her question.

"Nothing!" Ino growled. She didn't want to speak to anyone right now. She had heard Shikamaru complaining loudly about Naruto and Sasuke, and the things they would apparently "not stop doing" in his room when he went to study with Chouji and she wandered by to see how her plot was going. Clearly, not so well. Kiba found the whole thing hilarious, and he had grabbed Ino for a re-enactment, making kissy faces and telling her he loved her naked until she stormed off in a fury, although at least that seemed to cheer Shikamaru up a bit.

And now, to top it off, she was apparently in some sort of feud with Sakura, though she had no clue what her former love rival was on about. Stay away from who? There was no way she could know about Ino's plotting against Naruto, and besides, that was only one person. Who had she done something evil to lately?

Well, she had flaunted herself in front of Shikamaru trying to win him over so totally he would do anything to ensure her victory, but he was an idiot and seemed hardly to notice anything she did. And unless Sakura had decided to go after Sasuke's roommate as a nice displacement type settlement, she couldn't imagine Sakura would care about that, either. Ino considered going to Sakura's room and hitting her back, but she didn't want to get in an all out fight, which would probably mess up her face. It had been fine for Neji, he got his man in the process of the fighting, but it never worked that way for girls.

Instead, she decided to go downstairs, get some ice for her face, and think the situation over more carefully. She still thought the plan to make Naruto either do something extremely stupid or to sink into incurable depression that would bore even Sasuke had been a very good one. She wondered if Naruto had any _other_ things he was insecure about. Or maybe she should try a new angle. If only she knew what exactly had caused _this_ plan to fail, she would be better able to formulate a new, more perfect plan.

"Wow, you look ugly." Ino glared at the person who had entered the dining room, and saw Shikamaru, who slowly approached, his hands in his pockets, looking for all the world as though he just wanted a late night stroll through the tables.

"Sakura hit me." Ino pouted, thinking that she might be able to turn this to her advantage. "I didn't even do anything to her!"

"Well," Shikamaru motioned for her to take a seat and took the towel full of ice out of her hand, pressing it against her cheek. "I didn't mean the bruise."

"What?" Ino was not prepared for such an attack, from the one person she thought she could rely on to defend her at least a little. "You better take that back."

"Up to no good?" he asked her, blinking, and then shrugging at her innocent expression. "Like I even have to ask. Did it ever occur to you that if you redirected all that energy to something productive, you could coast through school, and maybe without anyone slapping you?"

"Is that your plan?" Ino snorted. "Stay out of everyone's business so you don't even have to care about people. Just coast through, barely experiencing anything?"

Shikamaru blinked at her, and for a moment, he looked vaguely surprised. His face changed, and for a moment, he didn't look like he was barely awake. "Not every experience is good."

"It'll be worth it." Ino told him stubbornly.

"What, when you make Sasuke yours?" Shikamaru chuckled, shaking his head. "There's a point where it goes from being persistent to being stupid. I can tell you passed it long ago."

"Shut up, you're just jealous." Ino stuck her tongue out. "You wish I was after _you_."

"Yeah, nothing like going to bed with a viper." Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Don't you wonder what all this plotting is going to get you, even if you got him? Would you want him to see this face you're making right now? Is this what you want to be? Don't you want to have any friends left at all? This isn't high school. Being the most conniving bitch on campus isn't going to win you popularity."

"If everyone hates me so much, why are you here?" she hissed, annoyed, trying not to feel guilty, trying not to think of just how she'd made Naruto feel when she told him all those things. Naruto, who didn't seem to have it in him to do anything cruel to anyone, and she had used his own insecurities against him, sabotaging his relationship as best she could for her own ends.

"I guess I'm curious." He told her, checking her cheek under the ice and then putting it back over the red skin.

"What?" she furrowed her brow in confusion.

"I want to see what face you make when you're just being Ino." He told her. "I thought it might be nice." She felt a clench in her chest, as though his words had struck her core, and she blinked up at him. He gave her that lazy smile she saw so often, the same one he gave her when he let her into his room to wait for Sasuke. The same one from when he handed her a copy of Sasuke's schedule he'd made for her. The same one from every time she'd snapped at him in anger. The same one from so many countless times…a smile he gave only to her. Not to Chouji, who he'd known almost forever, or Temari, who he found to be an intellectual rival, or to his roommate. Just Ino.

For some reason, she'd never realized that before, and though she couldn't say why, the realization made her eyes fill with tears. The smile slipped as the tears overflowed, slipping down her uninjured cheek, soaking into the ice pack, and she imagined the tears mingling with the water, touching Shikamaru's hand as he held the pack in place. In that way, it was as though he was brushing her tears away.

"Geez…don't cry." He sounded extremely ill at ease, and if she could stop crying, she would have laughed at his tone. "What's wrong?"

"I guess…we both have a problem. I can't stop trying, and you can't start." She laughed, and he pulled the ice pack away, looking at her in bewildered fascination. "I'll cry for both of us…maybe together we could do things right."

"Does this mean you're going to give up on him?" Shikamaru sounded relieved, and she brushed away her tears, nodding sharply.

"It's historical…I've never lost at anything before!" she told him.

"It gets easier." He shrugged, and she winked at him.

"I don't think I'll lose, next time." She stood up, kissed him full on the mouth, and skipped up the stairs, feeling extremely pleased with herself. Also, the look on Shikamaru's face had been priceless.

_That's for later…for now I think I owe some people apologies. Mostly Naruto._

_I hope he'll accept._

--

"Aha!" Lee leapt into the path, and Sakura was so surprised she dropped her coffee, barely avoiding splashing the hot liquid all over herself. "Sakura, I have come to take over the responsibility of being your escort. You have been duped by someone unworthy of your beauty!"

"Hello, Lee." Sai was torn between giving a proper greeting and making sure Sakura wasn't scorched by the coffee she had dropped. "That was a very surprising approach! Sakura, are you alright."

"I'm fine, thanks." She turned to Lee wearily. "For the last time, will you just stop? Sai and I…we're just friends!"

"Friends strolling in the night, sipping coffee?" Lee narrowed his eyes and rubbed his chin. "Oh, Sakura, you are very lucky I happened by!"

"Happened? You pretty much follow me all day!" Sakura cut in, but he plowed onward.

"For, rest assured, this foul blaggart was luring you away from the safe, well-lit dormitory into these dark paths, intent on trapping you in a niche and taking advantage of your innocent trust!" Sai warned, and Sakura took pause as she considered his words.

"Lee…have you considered that you are completely over the line?" she asked, her patience at the breaking point. Sai had been able to see she was severely upset when she had stormed back to her room after slapping Ino. He had been visiting, drinking tea with Hinata, eager to speak with Sakura about her day, and when he saw the murderous look on her face he had asked if she would like to take a walk. She had cooled off considerably since then, but she really was not in the mood for Lee's antics. "Honestly, what do I have to do to convince you I'm not _ever_ going to date you?! Because you're really not making me like you _more_ by doing this!"

"Sakura…" Sai touched her shoulder and smiled apologetically at Lee. "I am sorry, she had a bad day."

"Of course! You have likely done something to upset her!" Lee pointed at Sai and then beckoned him, clenching his fists and readying himself for a fight. "We must fight, unleashing the true vigor of youth, to determine who is worthier of her affections!"

"He wants to fight me." Sai told Sakura in vague amazement. "Have I offended him?"

"He thinks we're dating." She explained, and Sai's face changed slowly, like a dimmer switch being slowly turned to full brightness.

"Oh." He turned to Lee. "And so you would like to date Sakura? Very well." To Sakura's complete amazement, Sai attempted to imitate Lee's posture and moved forward, turning back to ask her what he was meant to do next just as Lee's fist shot out, causing him to spin and collapse to the ground in a heap.

"Sai!" she rushed forward, and Lee looked at his fist in confusion, then at the crumpled person on the ground. "You idiot!" she flipped him so that he was facing her, instead of the grass, and he blinked at her in a dazed silence. "Don't you ever…ever!"

"I am victorious?" Lee seemed confused. "Why do you run to him?"

"Because…" she stood up then, and if he had better instincts, Lee probably would have run away. "You punched him!" and she returned the favor, punching Lee so hard he stumbled drunkenly away, pondering over the meaning of being punched extremely hard by the girl of his dreams.

"Sakura?" Sai was sitting up, and she rushed back over to him. "Did I win?"

"You…why would you even..." she shook her head at him, helping him to his feet. "You've never been in a fight in your life. He could have killed you!"

"Because it was for a good cause." Sai told her, and she blinked at him, not sure what to say to that, feeling a flush rising in her cheeks. "Would you like more coffee? I can buy you another, if that is your wish, and we can stroll all through the threatening dark paths."

"Let's…just go home." Sakura knew it wouldn't do to sit there thinking over all of these things.

"May I hold your hand?" Sai asked, and she sighed heavily, but when she didn't answer, he still twined his fingers with hers and she let him stay that way until they returned to the dormitory.

--

"Do you think Ino notices I'm gone?" Tenten giggled as she snuggled against the pale man she was sharing a bed with. Lee had told Shino he was going to spend the weekend in solitary contemplations (where, they weren't sure) and he had immediately invited Tenten, who he'd been quietly dating for a few weeks to spend the night. She had accepted, looking forward to an opportunity to drink in the sight of him completely nude without constantly worrying that Lee was going to burst in and start doing push-ups or something like that without seeming to notice he was intruding on them fooling around, which she felt was very good for keeping their relationship quiet, avoiding the drama that plagued many of the rest of her friends, but making her far too edgy to really enjoy his surprisingly soft, nearly translucent skin. It made her own skin seem so dark by comparison, but he seemed unable to get enough of it, his crystal blue eyes shimmering as he attended every available inch.

They had enjoyed several naked, Lee-free hours already, and she was starting to feel like she might actually fall asleep, which was a rather nice feeling, considering most girls would probably balk at even entering a room so full of tiny, crawling inhabitants, much less sleeping in it. She didn't mind them, though. She could see how much they meant to Shino, and it made her see them in a different light.

Besides, he was so dependable, thoughtful, and straightforward. And amazingly beautiful. That helped a lot, too.

"I think she's better off on her own." Shino told her, kissing her forehead in the moonlight, the only illumination in the room. It made his skin glow.

"She said she's done with Sasuke." Tenten told him. "I want to believe it, but it's hard to think that she really will give up after so much. I'm worried it's a trick. I know she did something wicked...that's what got Sakura so worked up…but no one's sure what it was. I know she went and apologized to Naruto, though."

"He won't say, either?" Shino asked, and when Tenten shook her head, he nodded. "He wants her to have this second chance."

"Well, he could live to regret it when she comes up with some new crazy plan to get with Sasuke." Tenten sighed. "This is why I'm glad we're just…doing our own thing."

"It is nice not to have secret plots to deal with." Shino told her, and she giggled. There was a long silence between them, and he sighed. "Unfortunately, I have been plotting this whole time. To tickle you." His fingers were at her sides then, and she laughed as she squirmed to escape, but he presented a strong front. He climbed on top of her and launched a full assault as she struggled to gain control.

However, it soon became clear that tickling wasn't his true aim, and the laughter faded, to be replaced with soft noises of contentment, and soon their views narrowed until they felt they were the only two people in the world. Tenten thought the sleepover was going well, but she was glad it was just them.

--

"Come home with me." Gaara spoke the words out of nowhere. Neji had been nearly asleep while his lover watched his eyes close, his consciousness fading.

"Hmm?" Neji blinked at him, regaining some semblance of wakefulness.

"When term ends in three weeks and we are on break until the end of January." Gaara clarified. "I want you to come home with me."

"Your sister will poison me." Neji burrowed against Gaara's neck, kissing the pale skin and wondering at the heat of it.

"I'll taste all your food, then." Gaara tilted his chin upward to allow Neji access. "I could go to your home, if you prefer. I do not like the idea of being separated for so many weeks."

"Okay, I'll come home with you," Neji finally answered. "If you tell me why it is you never sleep."

"Why must you know?" Gaara grumbled and rolled away from him, clearly agitated. "I just don't. Do you not want to see me for one month?"

"That's not fair." Neji responded, wrapping his arm around Gaara's form, his hand wandering over the skin. "It's not as simple as that. I've never brought anyone home before, and it will amount to the same thing if I go to your home with you. Of course I want to spend that time with you more than anyone else, but I will be interrogated for my decision. My uncle is under the delusion that my past relationships are all experimentation, and that when I fall in love, it will be with a woman."

"Are you saying what it sounds like you're saying?" Gaara turned back over, and Neji smiled softly.

"Yes, I love you. Of course I do." Neji told him. Gaara had said the words two weeks ago, but it was a hard thing for Neji to do. "Which is why I want to know why it is you never sleep! I could help you, if you let me. I want you to have everything."

"I can't tell you." Gaara told him solemnly. "I have never told anyone, not even Temari or Kankurou."

"Why can't you tell me?" Neji asked. "Does it involve you killing someone and burying him under your sister's floorboards?"

"No." Gaara answered simply. "But if I told you…you would not love me anymore."

"Okay then." Neji sat up, shifting the blanket off of his body as Gaara looked at him in confusion. He clambered out of the bed, walked across the room and climbed into his own bed. "Good night."

"What kind of game is this?" Gaara climbed out of the bed as well, striding across the room and climbing into Neji's bed, trying to get comfortable again, but Neji pushed him away. "What are you doing?"

"I'm sleeping alone, same as I do every night." Neji told him, his tone cold. Gaara really had not pictured this happening when Neji finally said that he loved him, although he had a really hard time thinking that Neji even _could_ love him, so he hadn't spent a lot of time thinking about it. "Go be awake on your bed."

"You told me you liked sleeping next to me." Gaara sounded almost petulant, snuggling against Neji, sure that the other man would give up this ridiculous act now that Gaara had followed him to the other bed.

"I like sleeping together, but we never do that." Neji snapped, wriggling away from Gaara and getting up, looking for his clothes and beginning to get dressed.

"It's late," Gaara pointed out. "Where could you be going?"

"Like I'll tell you, you'll just climb in bed with me again." Neji retorted, leaving the room as soon as he'd found pants and a shirt. Gaara looked around desperately, grabbed a towel, wrapped it around his waist, and chased Neji out into the hall, just in time to see him knocking on Hinata's door.

"Stop it!" Gaara hissed, rushing over. "I don't like this."

"Really? Does it feel like I'm just keeping things from you for no real reason?" Neji asked, and just then, Hinata answered in her nightgown. "I need to sleep on your floor." He told her.

"No he doesn't!" Gaara hissed, and Hinata frowned in confusion. "Why is it so important to you?"

"Because it's affecting you." Neji responded at once. "Don't you think you'd be happier if you slept every once in a while?"

"I don't need that, I have you." Gaara grabbed Neji's shoulders and kissed him desperately, but Neji turned away from him.

"Stop now." Neji growled, and Hinata hesitated between closing the door to give them their privacy, and making herself available to Neji.

"Fine? You want to know so bad?" Gaara seemed to be at a breaking point of some sort, and Hinata actually believed he was going to punch Neji, but instead, he grabbed the taller man's hand and pulled him back into their room. She closed the door, feeling a bit off balance and hoping their fight wasn't serious. "When I was a kid," Gaara closed their door, dropping the towel and crossing the room to his bed, climbing under the covers. Neji watched him in amazement. He had been trying to find this out for so long, and Gaara was going to finally tell him. "You know I lived with my uncle until he died?"

"When you were nine, yeah, I remember." Neji sat down on the edge of Gaara's bed, hardly daring to believe he was sharing this thing he had absolutely refused to talk about up until now.

"From when I can first remember, when I would go to bed, he would kiss me right here and tell me he loved me, and tuck me in." Gaara pointed at his forehead. "I would go to sleep, and then I would wake up and he would be fucking me." Neji's back went stiff at this, and he reached out a hand to touch Gaara's arm, just to let him know he was still there, because from the look in his eyes, Gaara was somewhere else. "I would go to sleep thinking that my life was nice, like something in a story, but when I woke up, it was always to that. It started to hurt less as I grew, but I also stopped sleeping then. It did not stop him, and I was too small to fight him properly, but at least nothing unexpected and horrible could happen while I was sleeping. I did not like waking up to feel like I'd been torn in half. At the same time, I decided that if I could not overpower him, I would have to figure something else out. I started putting rat poison in his tea. I found it at school and smuggled little bags home." Gaara sighed heavily. "He died when I was nine. I know he is gone. I know he is not going to come in here, and if he did, I know I could fight him this time. But I cannot…I am afraid that I will go to sleep, and wake up to something horrible. What if someone came in here and cut your throat in the middle of the night? I wouldn't know, I would wake up in your blood, and I would have never known, if I'd only been awake."

Neji wanted to say it was ridiculous to think that someone would come in their bedroom in the night and cut Neji's throat. He wanted to say that nothing that had happened was Gaara's fault, and even systematically poisoning his uncle had not been something Neji blamed him for. He wanted to say a lot of things, but he found his throat clogged, and when he tried to speak, he found that he was in tears.

"You're crying." Gaara pointed out the obvious. "Are you afraid of me, now?" he sounded rather resigned to his fate. "I have killed a man, after all."

"Please," Neji reached out, enveloping Gaara's surprised form in his arms, letting a great sob out, and Gaara blinked at him in confusion as Neji kissed his throat over and over again, up and down the column. "Please."

"Please what?" Gaara asked. "You are upset."

"I don't…know." Neji breathed heavily, feeling as though he was crying for Gaara's sake, feeling as though he was trying to exorcise the demons that haunted his lover. "How can you…how?"

"What?" Gaara let Neji pull him down to the bed, surprised that he hadn't made him leave yet. This was the secret so horrible he would not even tell Temari. "You need to calm down, you aren't making sense."

"I love you." Neji managed, regaining control of himself. "You're so strong."

"What?" Gaara was more confused than ever. "Don't you…want me to leave?"

"I never want you to leave." Neji burrowed against him, his tears wetting Gaara's throat and chest. "I just…don't see, after all that, how you can go on. If you'd told me, if I knew, I would have gone slower. I would have been gentler with you."

"I like how you are with me." Gaara told him fiercely. "It's not the same. You don't tell me you love me to trick me. I can see you feel it, and I know you won't hurt me."

"But…sometimes I'm rough and I could have—"

"Sometimes I'm rough, too." Gaara told him. "I want to be able to do anything with you. My uncle is dead. I don't want him climbing into this bed, too. I want you to treat me the same. I want you still to love me, still to want me."

"I'll always…always feel that way." Neji couldn't believe the power of Gaara's secret, and the way it had shook him through and through. "Thanks for trusting me."

"Thanks for still loving me." Gaara kissed his head, and Neji sighed, completely exhausted by all the tumult of the evening. "Now that I told you, are you coming home with me?"

"Yes," Neji couldn't help but laugh, and it felt amazingly good to do after everything. "Of course, I'd love to."

"Good." Gaara was stroking Neji's hair when he fell asleep moments later, still vaguely amazed that Gaara had shared his secret. Gaara didn't sleep. He wasn't ready yet, but he could see…eventually Neji would want him to. He would have to prepare himself and try to learn to trust in the people around him, and especially to trust that when he woke up, Neji would still be there. That was his chief concern, now.

--

To be continued…


	15. Chapter 15

Everything in Between

Everything in Between

Chapter 15

--

"Kankurou, I am in need of your advice." Sai told his roommate, standing from his desk and approaching the other as soon as he returned home from class. "I find myself desiring the affections of Sakura, and I was wanting to know if you could explain how to change a friend into a girlfriend."

"Uh…let me sit down a second." Kankurou was not used to being bombarded like this as soon as he got home, so he set down his bag, sat on his bed, and scratched his chin. "You want to date Sakura?"

"Yes. I realized when we were misunderstood by Lee, who believed that we have been dating in secret for some time." Sai elaborated. "When I thought it over, I realized the possibility appealed to me for various reasons. I believe Sakura to be someone I might one day marry, and I think that I may love her, but I believe that the first step to exploring this is the casual dating."

"Whoa, slow down there." Kankurou shook his head heavily. "Don't limit yourself like that, man! There's hundreds of girls to choose from! Don't just shack up with the first one that catches your eye! You gotta live a little, you know, sow the wild oats and all that."

"Kankurou!" a muffled, but recognizable voice came from next door, and there was the sound of a door slamming before their own door flew open. "Stop giving bad advice!" Temari scolded at once before smiling at Sai. "So, you have a crush on Sakura?" she went over to Sai's bed and sat down, patting a spot next to her so he could sit as well. "Well, you two are so close already, and she's been over Sasuke for a couple months now. You shouldn't have any real trouble, and she'll be lucky to have a nice, committed boy like you, not someone who just wants to use her and toss her aside."

Kankurou let out a long stream of coughs that sounded oddly like he was saying "bitter hag" before Temari shot him a vicious glare and he momentarily subsided.

"I would never use Sakura." Sai assured her, eager for help from all fronts.

"Have you asked her out?" Temari asked, and he shook his head.

"I am afraid she will say no. I hinted at it. I was being _subtle_, but she did not respond favorably." Sai explained. "We have talked about many things, and she has already told me that she is trying to keep her focus on her studies, and that she thinks she is better off without a boyfriend right now. I feel this is working against me."

"Maybe Temari and you should date." Kankurou snorted. "She ran into the same road block with Shikamaru."

"Kankurou," Temari smiled sweetly at him. "I will kill you. Now shut up."

"Come to that, he does make a fair point." Sai frowned slightly. "You had a very similar problem. Were you able to overcome his hesitation to split time between studying and dating?"

"No." Temari admitted through gritted teeth. "But that's…completely different! Shikamaru…that was a mistake! But I think Sakura and you would be a really good couple."

"Don't listen to her, she's just trying to get you tied down." Kankurou warned. "You shouldn't waste your college years dating people that you want to _marry_! That's for when you're old and go crazy and decide diaper changing sounds awesome."

"And that is why you will die alone, Kankurou." Temari shook her head at him, and he scoffed.

"Oh yeah, cause the guys are lining up at your door for a chance to get with you." He rolled his eyes. "Sai, I'll take you to a big party next weekend, or we could go to some bars, and you can pick up a nice throw-away girlfriend. They're good for practicing on, so that way you know how to not fuck things up with someone you really like."

"I don't know…I would like not to fuck things up." Sai considered, and Temari hit him, partially because Kankurou was across the room, and she was not quite yet angry enough to throw Sai's laptop at him. "Why am I being attacked?"

"Don't listen to Kankurou. He's trying to make you a drooling idiot pig like him. Stay a nice boy, and Sakura will be sure to date you. All you have to do is ask! Oh, and get her some flowers. Girls love flowers."

"Stop ruining him!" Kankurou threw up his arms. "Come on! I was trying to make him like a total devastator, so he could be my wing-man and like we could go around picking up all kinds of ladies and cruising with them—"

"On what? Sai's moped?" Temari cracked. "Or did you get your car back from the ocean?"

"You have a car?" Sai asked Kankurou, and he grumbled something quietly. "I'm sorry, it is hard to hear when you talk so—"

"He said, not anymore. He drove it off a cliff." Temari explained with no small amount of satisfaction. "That was his _third_ strike. The two before that he totaled within a week of purchase."

"Why did you drive your car off a cliff, Kankurou? Were you committing insurance fraud?" Sai asked, and Temari actually snorted with laughter.

"It was a _dark_ night, and the road was really rainy, and I lost control on a curve, and it went off the road. It _wasn't_ a cliff. It was like, a sand bank."

"A forty foot high sand bank with a sudden drop-off." Temari agreed, sarcasm thick in her tone. "Those always pop out of nowhere. And then that silly ocean took his car away."

"Okay, I was really drunk!" Kankurou added. "I mean, I barely remember…"

"That is why alcohol is dangerous." Sai advised him. "You should never drive under the influence of alcohol."

"Ugh. I don't even know you." Kankurou shook his head at his roommate in thorough disgust. Temari rolled her eyes and turned back to Sai.

"Good luck." She patted his hand in a friendly manner. "Remember flowers."

"Thank you, Temari." Sai decided to prepare himself to do this as soon as possible.

--

"Hey Naruto, I was gonna ask." Kiba greeted his roommate. "Wanna come visit for winter break? I asked my mom, she said it'd be okay. I figured since you live alone you might like…"

"Thanks Kiba!" Naruto beamed at his roommate. "Actually, I'm trying to get Sasuke to invite me home. He's being really dumb about it, though. Do you mind?"

"Not at all! I didn't even think of that!" Kiba chuckled and shook his head, turning his attention back to his notes. Finals were next week, and he was pretty sure he was going to kick a lot of ass. He had promised himself that after his last final, he would ask Hinata on a date, and that was his secret motivation.

"But if he keeps being dumb, I'll definitely come home with you. I want to meet all your family and pets and stuff." Naruto assured his friend, and he agreed with a sharp nod. Naruto felt much happier after receiving Kiba's invitation. He had been beginning to think that no one cared that he wasn't going home to anyone, but clearly, it had occurred to his roommate, and he didn't want Naruto to spend nearly a month in solitude. He almost turned back into the bedroom and accepted Kiba's invitation outright. After all, he had been dropping hints, and Sasuke hadn't picked up on them, and maybe that meant he didn't _want_ Naruto to meet his brother, to see his home, to spend winter break with him.

_I'll give it one more try. If he doesn't ask me today, I'm going to go with Kiba._

"Hey, Naruto, if you see Shikamaru can you tell him I need to talk to him?" Ino passed him in the hall, and he nodded, feeling a bit wary. Ever since the incident, he couldn't help wondering if she had meant to give him bad advice, like Sakura thought, or if she really had believed what she told him. Whatever the truth was, he hadn't seen her do anything to try and get between Naruto and Sasuke since then. Maybe she was finally seeing the light? Whatever the case, he was still grateful to Sakura. Sasuke and him had actually had sex since then, three times, always with Sasuke on bottom, since he seemed to think he needed to ease Naruto into it, but Naruto had assured him that if he wanted to do it the other way, it only seemed fair. And he couldn't help being curious, since Sasuke really seemed to enjoy it…

_Concentrate! It's not sex time right now!_

Taking a deep breath, Naruto walked into Sasuke's room. He'd been teased about knocking recently, so he had stopped. He felt a bit bad about Shikamaru, who seemed to spend as little time in the room as necessary, and _always_ knocked, ever since walking in on them naked once. It was almost like Naruto lived here and Shikamaru was the visitor, but he had stopped complaining, so Naruto wasn't sure how he felt about it.

"Hey," Sasuke looked up at his entry, and Naruto dropped a kiss on his lips before sitting next to him on the bed. "Studying." He explained the notes he was poring over.

"How many finals do you have?" he asked, and Sasuke shook his head at Naruto.

"How are your final projects coming?" he asked in annoyance. Naruto had no actual sit-down finals, and Sasuke, when he had learned that, had declared that photography was a cheater's major.

"Mostly finished." Naruto laughed, knowing what Sasuke was annoyed about, and knowing it was more show than anything. "Excited for break?"

"Not really." He sighed. "I don't get along with my brother, and he's probably going to be pissed I'm not taking a single business class."

"Do you have your own room in your guys' gigantic mansion?" Naruto asked, and Sasuke eyed him curiously before nodding. "Is it cool."

"Eh," Sasuke answered in a non-committal fashion.

"Did you hear Neji's going to stay with Gaara for winter break?" Naruto finally pulled out what he was sure was the most transparent stratagem ever. "I bet that'll be nice for them."

"Look, I get the hints already." Sasuke put his pencil down in irritation. "Trust me, if I thought you would like it, I'd invite you to stay with me, but it would be miserable for you. My brother…I don't even have words to describe him, and he'll hate you, and try to make your life hell for a whole month."

"Why would he hate me?" Naruto made his most innocent face, and Sasuke couldn't help chuckling before kissing him lightly.

"He hates anyone that I like." Sasuke assured him. "That's the way it's always been."

"But…do _you_ want me there?" Naruto asked. "I mean, if I was there with you for winter break, would you like that?"

"Of course…I just…I didn't want to force you to suffer." Sasuke explained.

"I don't care how big of an ass your brother is, you're the one I love." Naruto reminded him. "I want to spend my winter break with you."

"Okay," Sasuke agreed. "But don't say I didn't warn you. And don't let him get you alone in a room."

"What's he going to do?" Naruto scoffed, and Sasuke looked as though he was going to answer, shook his head, and forced a smile. "It'll be great, trust me."

"Thank you." Sasuke smiled. "I'm used to it, but with you there…it will be almost bearable."

"Awwww," Naruto hugged Sasuke and ruffled his hair, because he knew it irritated Sasuke when he did that, but also knew that Sasuke wouldn't really _do_ anything about it. "I wuv you."

"Stop that." Sasuke made a face at him, and Naruto giggled, laying down with his head next to Sasuke so that he could study, but also let his hand stroke Naruto's head. This was his way of not distracting Sasuke. Later, he would probably decide Sasuke needed a study break, and for his own good, of course, he would start kissing and caressing him, and then…but for now, he'd let him study. After all, he loved his boyfriend, but he didn't want to make him fail all his finals.

"Oh good, clothes on." Shikamaru came in after knocking and offered his standard confirmation of their level of decency before dropping off a couple books and digging through his notebooks for something.

"Oh yeah!" Naruto shifted position, which annoyed Sasuke, because he had nearly lulled the blonde to sleep, which was a really good trick for getting the optimal amount of studying done. Otherwise, he could very easily become…distracted. "I almost forgot. Ino said she needs to talk to you about something. Did you see her already?"

"Not since morning." Shikamaru grabbed the notebook he wanted. "Okay, I'll stop by. Thanks."

"No problem!" Naruto beamed and as Shikamaru left, he decided it was probably time for a study break.

Sasuke wasn't very hard to convince.

--

"Hey," Shikamaru greeted when Ino opened the door to her room and beckoned him inside. "Naruto said you needed to talk." She closed the door and rounded on him. Something about the way she was looking at him made him feel vaguely uncomfortable.

"How are your finals coming?" she asked. "Sit," she waved at the bed, and he did as she said.

"Fine…I guess. Turned in one of my final papers today, only two left." He told her. "How about yours?"

"I have four sit-down finals, they're scheduled for Monday and Tuesday." She told him. "But you're halfway done, huh? You deserve something…some sort of celebration…" Suddenly, Shikamaru found he was pinned to her bed, and she peppering his face and throat with kisses.

"What…are you…doing?" he asked.

"Celebrating," she pulled her shirt off, and he blinked at her, not really knowing what to say in response to that. "Unless you don't want to?" she ground her hips down against him and he felt himself go completely hard as he struggled to hold in a groan and failed. "Feels like you want to." She nodded knowingly and tossed her bra aside before pulling at his own shirt.

"But…I already told you…" he found it easier to speak when his shirt was obscuring his view of Ino's breasts, because they were very…very nice. And somewhat hypnotic. "I have to focus…on my studies, and I don't have tiiiiiii-yiiiiime!" he yelped as her hand found its way to his length and squeezed it. She was getting rid of her pants, and he wasn't sure how much longer he could argue with a hot naked girl grinding against him and rubbing him.

"Time for sex? Come on, it'll take like twenty minutes, thirty tops." She told him. "Look, I'm not asking you for a relationship, I'm just trying to celebrate all your hard work. Don't you think you deserve….something nice after all that?" she climbed off the bed to pull his pants and underwear off, tossing them to one side triumphantly.

"I…I don't think I should…" Shikamaru tried once more. "What about…Tenten! She could walk in…any second."

"Already locked the door," Ino winked at him and lowered herself, kissing his length very carefully, as though she was concerned it would feel left out somehow. "Besides, she's 'secretly' dating Shino, so as you can see, we're two of the only people on this floor who aren't getting regular sex, and I really think we should see about that."

"But things…could get…complicated if we…" she had just put him in her mouth totally, and he completely forgot how talking worked. Instead, he decided to just enjoy this.

After all, he _had_ worked hard. She said so herself. And it was probably rude to argue with someone who was sucking you off.

--

Shikamaru blinked at his notes, shook his head, and almost let himself nod off again before typing another sentence, seeing it made no sense, and deleting it all. After Ino and him had celebrated once, he had fallen asleep, and then when he woke up, he had decided he might as well do it again. This cycle had recurred once more, so that by the time he stumbled out of her room, his knees a bit watery and his hair completely down from its usually restrictive hair band (which he thought he had lost,) it was nearly ten at night, and he still hadn't eaten anything. Luckily, Kiba had been up and had offered him a place to sleep (he was sexiled again) as well as some of Naruto's ramen to eat. He'd taken to keeping his computer in their room, since he had pretty much taken over Naruto's spot in the room considering how often the blonde stayed with Sasuke. Maybe they could trade rooms.

He wasn't sure if what he'd done was a mistake. Well…he felt the fact that he did not want anyone to know made it pretty obvious it wasn't a _good_ idea, but that was mostly because even though Ino had been clear that they weren't dating, he was rather confident that as soon as Temari caught wind of their little "celebration," she would probably kill either him, Ino, or both. But he couldn't help it! He was a man, after all. He had needs, and when Ino, who he _did_ like, and knew, and felt reasonably sure he could trust ever since she'd stopped plotting horrible things just threw her hot body at you and did all those things with her mouth…and her hips…

Well, you didn't just tell her you really had to go work on your other final papers, and you appreciated the offer and all, but it just wasn't a good time. Plus, it was true that he was halfway done. Really, _more_ than halfway, because he was two-thirds of the way through one of his remaining papers, and the other he'd already done all the research on.

But it seemed that despite the naps, all that sex really had taken it out of him, and he needed to either go to sleep or get some coffee. He looked at the clock. Eleven-fifteen. The café was open late because of finals…he could go get some coffee and have this paper finished by two, possibly three in the morning…

"Shit man, I need coffee." Kiba yawned. "You guys want some?" he stood up, and Chouji, who for some reason seemed to be just as awake as he had been all day, despite hours of staring at mind-numbing chemistry facts and notes, shook his head.

"I'll come with, though. I'm hungry." He put down his book and stretched, grabbing a jacket.

"Come on, I can see you're dying over there." Kiba teased. "Let's go get coffee." He urged, and Shikamaru somehow found the energy to stand. "You look like a zombie, dude."

"Kay," he yawned hugely and grabbed his own jacket, stumbling out the door after them. Kiba peered down the hall, and seeing that the door was open, went over to Hinata and Sakura's room.

"You guys want to come on a coffee run?" he poked his head in, knocking on the door, and soon, Hinata and Sakura were joining them.

"What's going on out here?" Temari had heard some noise and come out of her room to yell at people, as was her typical response to such things, and her irritable complaining caused Kankurou to peek out of his own door, since he liked when people other than him got yelled at by Temari.

"Coffee run! Want to come?" Sakura asked, zipping up her coat.

"Oh man, coffee." Kankurou went back into his room to get his shoes on and soon Sai and Temari joined them as well.

"Are you guys going somewhere?" Ino came out into the hall, already pulling her jacket on, and Shikamaru concentrated on not thinking about what they'd spent most of the afternoon and evening doing, because it made it hard not to blush. "I'm so freaking sick of studying."

"Coffee run!" Kiba boomed, "everyone come get coffee!" and as if by magic, several doors down the hall opened, and before they knew it, Gaara, Neji, Tenten, Shino, Sasuke, Naruto, and Lee had all joined them.

"Oh man, it's like a coffee party." Kankurou nodded approvingly as they headed down the stairs, their group completely filling the stairway as though they were on a field trip of some sort.

"I wish finals would all go and die." Tenten responded, and a few people laughed.

"Maybe you'd be getting more studying done if Shino wasn't showing you his bug collections twenty-four seven!" Ino teased. "_If _you know what I mean!"

"Oh, shut up!" Tenten flushed, and Shino offered her a comforting arm, which she accepted.

"Are you guys really dating?" Kiba asked, and much laughter and giggling broke out as they made it down the stairs and out into the cold night air.

"Yes, we are." Shino confirmed.

"We just didn't want to make a big deal of it, there's enough drama on our floor." Tenten pointed out.

"Yeah, mostly caused by Sasuke." Kiba pointed out loudly to more laughter, although Naruto hit him in the back of the head. "Hey, like you don't know it's true!"

"Hey, where did Sai go?" Sakura realized that the pale man who had just been standing next to her was nowhere around, and they all started looking around them, when he suddenly ran back up to the group.

"I had to stop, I am sorry!" he called out. "I am back." Sai seemed to be concealing something in his coat, but Sakura didn't want to be a nag, so she let it go. Soon, they were filing into the café, to the dismay of the worker who was getting ready to close.

"We all just want coffee!" Kiba shouted out at the completely aghast look on the worker's face.

"I want a grilled ham and cheese sandwich!" Chouji added.

"Okay, so that's…" the worker looked around in confusion…

"Hey, we can help, come on guys." Naruto pulled Sakura forward and beckoned to Lee. The worker recognized them as work study students and graciously let them behind the counter, not even bothering with aprons.

"Is it cool if we chill in here for a little, café guy?" Kiba asked loudly, and he shrugged, completely lambasted by the sheer number of people who had just poured into the café twenty minutes before closing. "It's totally a coffee party!"

"This is a really good study break." Hinata giggled, happy to be around so many of her friends, and even happier to see Neji actually leave his room for something other than class. "This was a very good idea, Kiba."

"I didn't expect it to get so…" Kiba blinked down at her, and reminded himself of his promise.

_After my finals…I make my move!_

"I am so glad to be here with you." She flushed slightly, and he felt himself hesitating, wondering if maybe now would be better…

_Only an idiot starts seeing someone right during finals! How will I get everything finished and concentrate? It's amazing Naruto's getting anything done, and he's been with Sasuke for almost two months now._

"I'm…really glad you came." He limited himself, smiling at her. No point wasting an opportunity to spend time with her! It was just a study break, not a date or anything. There were all his friends all around him, as well, it was no big deal.

"Hey there," Ino handed Shikamaru a cup of coffee, keeping one for herself. "How are your other papers coming?"

"Um…they're good…coming along good." He found he really wanted to kiss her, which was _stupid_, he knew, because what they did, it hadn't meant anything! And he was clearly just tired and confused, so he started at his coffee as though it held all the world's answers.

"Come see me when they're done." She winked at him, strolling away as though she'd said and done nothing out of the ordinary. Shikamaru wished that her talking about his finals papers didn't turn him on so much. Finals should _not_ be sexy.

"This is fun. Isn't this fun?" Naruto was bouncing around, and Sasuke was seriously regretting him have coffee after he had all that soda earlier. "Oh man, Sasuke, oh man, guess what?"

"What?" Sasuke asked, wishing that Naruto would wear himself out already, or at least tire down to a more acceptable level of cheer.

"This is _so_ much fun!" he hugged Sasuke and kissed his cheek, giggling and nearly spilling his coffee. Sasuke had seen this coming and managed to hold his well clear of the devastation a hyper Naruto could cause.

"I think Naruto's having fun." Gaara commented, and Neji actually smiled, causing Hinata to go all misty-eyed.

"Oh man…did Gaara…just make a _joke_?" Kankurou clapped a hand to his forehead in mock surprise. "Man Neji, you've really loosened a few things up in there, you know what I mean?"

"He's your _brother_!" Temari scolded. "Don't talk about him like that!"

"Sakura," Sai approached the pink-haired girl, who was laughing and enjoying herself now that she had her coffee as well, and they'd let the poor worker go home. "May I ask you something in private?"

"Oh…sure." She had no idea what he was going to ask her, but she figured if they just went behind the counter, where no one currently was, they would be afforded some privacy. "What is it?"

"I found these for you." Sai unzipped his coat and produced a fistful of flowers he must have stolen from the campus garden.

"Is that why you ran off, earlier?" she took the flowers, unable to stop the blush on her cheeks. "To get me these?"

"I want to date you." He continued. "Would that…be acceptable?"

"Sai…I don't know," she sighed, feeling foolish that she had not seen this coming.

"I know that you need to concentrate on your studies!" he cut in before she could finish. "But so do I! We could…have study dates, and then sometimes, when we do not have any homework, we can go on regular dates. We see each other very often already, and I thought…I would like to see you at least as often as I do now. But I would also like to kiss you. Possibly later we could move to more advanced intimacy. Also, I enjoy holding your hand, and I think you smell very nice."

"Can't we just be friends?" she knew she was wavering, but the last time she had let herself be swept away by this sort of thing, she had ended up feeling the fool, crying in her bed and being dejected for weeks.

"Please, if you would give me the chance, I could make you happy." He told her. "And if I failed, you could turn me aside forever."

_But when that happened…Sai was there to help cheer me up._

_And Sai actually likes me. This isn't really the same thing at all!_

_But what if we break up? I don't want to lose Sai as a friend!_

_But if I turn him down…I might lose him as a friend anyway._

It was still hard to hang out with Sasuke, or with Lee. Naruto she felt comfortable with, but he…Naruto was just different. She didn't want to lose what she had with Sai. He was a great confidant, he was surprisingly wise about a lot of things, and he was a lot of fun to be around. He also knew when it was time to be serious, and he really…

_He does care a lot about me…_

_I don't know what to do!_

"Kiss her!" Sakura heard Temari's hissed instructions a split second before Sai moved toward her, so she didn't really have any time to react, other than to be completely swept away by the sensation of Sai sweeping her into his arms, kissing her, and dipping her low as he held her by the back of the head and the small of her back.

She felt like she was falling, endlessly, being swept away, and when he pulled away and blinked at her hopefully, she knew what she was going to say before the word left her mouth.

"Yes."

"Oh man, did you guys _see_ Sai!" Kiba was cat-calling. "He was all," he pantomimed with his coffee, which was mostly funny because he was fake kissing a cup of coffee. "Go Sai!"

"I taught him that." Kankurou proclaimed, and at the giggling, he flushed red. "I mean, not…that's not what I meant!"

"I think until after finals, we should not go on any real dates." Sai pointed out to Sakura, ignoring their friends, his smile so large she knew that she couldn't have possibly made a mistake.

"I think that sounds great." She leaned forward and pecked him on the lips, finding that she could ignore the catcalls as well. If she really concentrated.

--

To be continued…


	16. Chapter 16

Everything in Between

Everything in Between

Chapter 16

--

Kiba stood at Hinata's door, feeling more nervous than he ever had in his life. But he had sworn he would do this, and after what had happened with Sai and Sakura…he felt nothing if not inspired to take a chance with her. He had limited himself to ten minutes of fixing his hair and changing into a nicer shirt, lest he end up psyching himself out completely and not doing this at all, which wouldn't happen. Not this time.

"Hi!" he greeted when Sakura opened the door, smiling. "Is Hinata here?"

"Um…I'm pretty sure she has a final right now." Sakura tapped her lips. "But she should be back soon, if you want to come in." she gestured him inside, and Kiba, not knowing what else to do, entered the room. Sakura was packing, and she kept looking at him speculatively as he sat first in one of the chairs, then on Hinata's bed, then stood by the dresser, then circled around the room and sat down again. "Hey, I know! Why don't you make her some tea? I bet she'd really like that."

"Great idea! Thanks, Sakura." Kiba ended up needing help with this, because he had never used an electric kettle before, and wasn't sure about how much tea to have, and by the end of the process, she was having a hard time not giggling at how nervous he was.

"So, when Hinata gets here," Sakura couldn't resist teasing a little, "did you want to talk to her in private?"

"I…well, um…" Kiba flushed red, and Sakura giggled.

"It's okay, I think everyone knows." She relented, not forcing him to say it. "I think maybe even Hinata knows."

"Knows…that I…" Kiba narrowed his eyes, trying to verify they were talking about the same thing, and Sakura rolled her eyes, going back to her packing. After a moment, Hinata swept in, cheeks pink from the cold air outside, but looking generally happy.

"That final was actually fun, and I think—" she cut herself off, a bit surprised to see they had a visitor. "Why, hello Kiba. How nice of you to visit."

"Kiba made tea for you." Sakura spoke breezily as she rolled a shirt and patted it into place in her suitcase before putting her hand to her mouth as though she was suddenly remembering something. "Oh…I just forgot, I loaned some books to Sai. I'll have to go get those." And she skipped out of the room as though nothing was out of the ordinary, except for her exuberant attitude. Hinata blinked after her roommate before stepping over to her seat and sitting down, nodding graciously and accepting the cup that Kiba handed her, trembling so that the hot liquid nearly sloshed over.

"That was very sweet of you to make me tea." Hinata blushed prettily. "Thank you so much. It is very nice to come home to a hot cup of tea after a day of working hard."

"Yeah…yeah." Kiba wished he could regain control of himself, wished he didn't have to feel so nervous. "Um, so, your finals coming along well?" he asked.

"That was my last one, and I really think I did well on all of them!" she gushed happily. "I am very happy with it, overall. How about you, Kiba?"

"I just finished today, as well." He took a deep breath. "Actually, I promised myself that when I finished, I would ask you something."

"Oh?" Hinata felt her heart skip a beat, and she couldn't help remembering what Naruto had told her.

"Would…do you think…maybe we could go on a date some time?" he asked, and she blushed, smiling and nodding. "Really?" he could hardly believe it.

"Yes…I would like to have a date with you." She told him. "I think you are a very good man, Kiba, and I have thought of this for quite some time. I knew I would say yes if you asked. I am sorry I couldn't say anything…I am very…I can be shy, you see."

"That's okay!" Kiba was ecstatic. "I'm so glad! Oh man, we can go anywhere you want, and it'll be a ton of fun. Do you want to go out to dinner, or like to the movies, or do one of those like, crazy alternative go climb a mountain dates, or what?"

"Um…it would be nice to go to dinner." Hinata looked around. "We…well, I have nothing to do tonight, so if you wanted to…"

"I'll go get my wallet!" Kiba ran out of the room, dancing in triumph all the way down the hall and running a victory lap around his room.

"Hinata said yes?" Chouji glanced up from where he was packing, and Kiba nodded emphatically. "Good job, man."

"Yes!" he grabbed his wallet and ran back to join Hinata, who was putting on her coat. He felt so happy he knew that if he let himself, he would continue running up and down the hallways, so he just needed to calm down and focus on what really mattered.

Hinata.

--

"She went where?" Neji furrowed his brow, and Sakura thought he actually looked a little scary. "I did not authorize this."

"Well, you aren't her keeper." Sakura pointed out, feeling like she was pretty safe with Gaara standing right there looking annoyed and impatient. "Hinata is a grown-up, and if she wants to date someone, that's up to her."

"She cannot just date _anyone_." Neji corrected. "Kiba is unkempt, he throws raucous parties, and he is…generally a bad influence. I will speak to her father about this."

"Oh, don't be so crabby." Sakura rolled her eyes at him. "You got to date who you wanted. Does your uncle know about that? No offense, Gaara."

"Whatever." Gaara was annoyed that Neji insisted on seeing Hinata before they left. Like they didn't see her _every_ day. He just wanted to leave right now, because the sooner they left, the sooner they could be at his house, and the sooner they could be having naked end of term celebration time. Kankurou and Temari had already left an _hour_ ago in Temari's car, and they had all of Neji and Gaara's stuff with them, since his BMW just didn't really have any storage space.

"That has nothing to do with this." Neji told her irritably. "I am his nephew, and as such, I'm afforded liberties, and Hinata is his first born, so she has a responsibility to live up to. She cannot simply accept dates with every unwashed college boy who drunkenly stumbles into her room."

"Don't talk about him like that!" Sakura scowled at him. "He's a perfectly respectable…" but she trailed off as she saw something odd, and completely unexpected at that moment. Ino's door opened, and Shikamaru stumbled out, hair down and disheveled, shirt buttoned wrong, and walked past them looking as though he might be drunk. Her mouth agape, Sakura turned back to Ino's door, where the blonde in question was combing her hair, wearing only a silk robe that barely covered anything and looking extremely pleased with herself.

"What?" Ino blinked at them, for even Neji had stopped being indignant for a moment just to puzzle over the situation. She giggled, shook out her hair, and went back to her room.

"Well…then." Neji attempted to regain his thread, but really…after that, he wasn't sure he even remembered what he had been talking about. Something about Hinata. "Tell her we came by…"

"Hey guys!" Naruto bounced over to them looking like he was probably on a five day caffeine and sugar bender. Which he probably was. "Sasuke and I are driving to his house in his super hot car now! See you guys next month!" he hugged Sakura, and then to their mutual surprise, Neji and Gaara all in turn before waving and racing down the hall to say goodbye to more people.

"They're leaving." Gaara spoke pointedly to Neji. "When are we leaving?"

"Fine, fine." Neji shook his head, annoyed that he'd been cut off twice now. "Just tell her to have a safe vacation. And do not date that boy." He turned swiftly on his heel and Gaara sighed in relief, following him out to the stairwell, pleased to finally be leaving.

--

"Are we supposed to be here?" Sakura couldn't help whispering. Sai had a basket on one arm and was guiding her up the stairs of a completely dark building, which they'd accessed by an underground passage, and she was almost positive they were somewhere they weren't actually supposed to be. "Where are we going?" she changed her line of questioning, and he looked back at her, smiling and instead of going through the door at the top of the stairs, he turned and led her to a small side door, which he seemed to have the key for. "Where did you get that?" she frowned, as he finally pulled her into a room with a giant telescope and a glass ceiling they could see through.

"This is the astronomy lounge." He explained as she looked around, and he set the basket down on the small table, beckoning her to the threadbare couch that sat in front of a whiteboard covered with scribbled notations, and a few random jokes and comments.

"How…how do you have the key to the astronomy lounge?" she couldn't help giggling and staring at the glass ceiling of the small room.

"A boy in the chess club loaned it to me." He told her. "I thought it would be a nice date."

"This…is very nice." She leaned back, gazing at the stars before looking at the fare that Sai had brought along. She grabbed a sandwich and giggled as he poured cider into plastic wine glasses and handed her one.

"I am too young to purchase alcohol. And also, I do not want you to think I am up to no good." He told her, seeing what she was laughing about. "But I do not actually like alcohol that much."

"That's okay." She smiled. "Cider's delicious." She sipped some and set it down, taking a bite of her sandwich and gazing up at the stars again. "This really is nice. How long did you plan this?"

"Since you said we could have dates now." Sai told her, and she smiled at him, feeling like this was probably one of the best risks she had ever taken. It had only been a week, but Sai was probably the best boyfriend ever. He was considerate, he was attentive, but not needy, he was smart and funny, and he really cared about her. The fact that he went to this trouble just for one date showed that was the sort of person he was.

"I'm really glad that we're here." She told him. "I mean, that we're dating and everything. I was so worried things would go wrong again."

"I will always make sure to be good to you." Sai told her solemnly, and she leaned over, kissing his cheek as he sipped his cider. They continued to eat and talk about how their finals had gone, what they planned to do when they got home. Sakura was amazed at how easy the transition from being friend with Sai to dating him had gone. After they ate, Sai pulled a blanket out of the basket, and when he handed it to her, she snuggled against him and put the blanket over both of them, happy he'd brought it since the glass ceiling and the aperture in the wall the telescope went through made it so the room was pretty chilly. They attempted to name constellations, and after she got past the four she knew, she started making them up, coming up with stories for each one.

They stared up at the stars and talked about their friends, talked about each other, their families, their futures, and everything in between. Sakura didn't realize how late it was until she started to doze off, and Sai shifted, kissed her softly, and told her it was time to head back. She let him lead her back after he cleared up the evidence of their dinner, and when they reached her door, he wished her a goodnight and almost walked away before turning back and kissing her so thoroughly that she knew despite being tired, it would be a while before she could get to sleep.

She was leaving for winter break the next day, and so was he. They wouldn't see each other for almost a month, and she hoped that it wouldn't seem so long once she was at home, distracted by her family. In any case, she had his phone number and his email address, as he had hers. She doubted he'd call more than once or twice, because that was the way boys were…but then again.

Sai was making her think that not _all_ boys could be pigeon-holed so easily.

--

"Okay, so when you meet Itachi, just always use –sama with him, or he gets really pissy." Sasuke told Naruto. "And…for now, let's just tell him that you're my friend, because I don't know, he might kick you out."

"He might kick me out?" Naruto laughed.

"Don't worry, if he does, we can go spend winter break in your apartment. You said you have a place, right?" Sasuke asked him.

"It's a tiny studio in a building that's like…halfway house for orphans." Naruto warned him. "It's really crappy."

"Can't be crappier than Itachi." Sasuke snorted slightly. "Look, I know you said you want to meet him and everything, but things could go really bad. He gets…well, he always wants to be the center of attention, and he really doesn't like it when there are things going on that don't involve him."

"But, I mean, you must still love him." Naruto pointed out. "He's your brother."

"Hn." Sasuke grunted and turned off of the freeway. "Did you pack that red shirt you wear with the v-neck?"

"Yeah, you love that shirt." Naruto snorted as though this were obvious.

"Don't wear it." Sasuke advised. "Just…don't."

"Is it too gay? Will he like, figure us out?" Naruto giggled. "Cause I think his first hint will be when I sneak down the hall to sleep in your bed with you and we have sex. Just, I mean, after that, the shirt's kind of a footnote."

"Just don't wear it!" Sasuke snapped, and Naruto stiffened in surprise. "I'm sorry…I'm just…I really hate going home."

"Kiba invited me to stay with him." Naruto told him. "We could've both gone. We still can, if your brother's really so crappy."

"No…no, this is important to you." He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "It'll be okay as long as we're both there. Oh, and lock your door at night."

"What? Do you have a morlock living in your basement?" Naruto joked. "No, I know, lock my door, seriously. Got it. But what if you want to visit me, or I want to visit you?"

"We can have a knock. Like this." Sasuke did a series of knocks against the dashboard. "Can you do that?" Naruto repeated the sequence. "Okay, but if it's like this," and he did three staccato knocks, "that means something bad is going down, don't open your door for anything."

"Is there going to be a Nazi raid in your house, or something?" Naruto was baffled by all these rules. He knew that Sasuke was slightly obsessive compulsive, and he wondered how much of this was serious, and how much compulsion, but he wasn't usually like this. Mostly he just kept things really clean, which was fine with Naruto.

"My brother isn't the only issue. He has some really…weird friends, and sometimes they decide to pull pranks they think are hilarious…they're not hilarious at all. Some of them are dangerous, and I just don't want anything to happen to you."

"Okay." Naruto was starting to think his cramped studio was sounding really good about now. "Well, I mean, if worse comes to worse, even though school doesn't start until the nineteenth, I know campus is open again on the fifth, so we could just go back if things are really bad."

"I was already planning on leaving on the fifth." Sasuke told him. "I don't know if I'll make it that long."

"Didn't you live here your whole life?" Naruto was confused.

"Yeah, but my dad was alive for most of that." Sasuke reminded him. "Itachi's gotten a little…bit more eccentric since he's been in charge."

"Okay." Naruto gulped as they pulled into a drive and he gaped at the amazing houses they were passing by, before Sasuke finally turned into one of the gated estates, punched in a security code, and was let through after the posted guard recognized him, as well. "Whoa, it's like…you guys should have your own bodyguards and stuff!" Naruto was turning around in his seat, looking around at the perfectly manicured drive they were now following to an impressive house looming at the very end. "Do you guys have your own jet?"

"Well, it's for business." Sasuke shrugged. "Itachi takes it for urgent meetings that are far away."

"Oh man, you really _do_ have a jet? Where's it at?" he looked around, expecting to see a runway.

"It's a small plane, honestly. It's at the airport; we just call it in when we need it." Sasuke felt a little embarrassed. He wasn't especially proud that his family was rich, and he hadn't thought of how it would impress Naruto, who had never had anything for most of his early life.

"Oh, okay." Naruto was still bouncing in his seat. "When you were a kid, did a limo drive you to school?"

"No, my father thought it was too ostentatious. We were driven in a town car." He answered, unable to repress his smile at the way Naruto was bouncing around. "Honestly, it sounds cool, I'm sure, but it made it a little hard to make friends."

"Poor Sasuke, had to go to school in the town car." Naruto sighed, and Sasuke laughed, ruffling his hair.

"Stop!" he felt the humor seep out of him as he pulled up to the front, and they exited the car, grabbing their things out of the trunk. However, before they could get them inside, a man rushed out to help them.

"Master Sasuke, a pleasure to have you home." He bowed to the Uchiha, and Sasuke gestured to his guest.

"Thank you, Motsu. This is my guest, Naruto Uzumaki. Please make sure he is taken care of while he is here." Sasuke sounded so natural, and Naruto realized that he was raised giving orders, was used to having people wait on him and managed to do it without really sounding arrogant or bossy. It just seemed like you should do what he said. Naruto had never really seen this side of Sasuke, and it was hard to make it mesh with the sometimes mopey college student who despised attention, but craved his affection so much that he would do anything to get it. He sounded kind…but his tone…

_It's so cold. It's like the real Sasuke is being locked away inside while he's here._

_Maybe this was a mistake._

"Very good, sir, a pleasure to have you, Master Uzumaki." Naruto frowned as he bowed and then took away their bags, while Sasuke took his time closing the trunk and walking slowly toward the imposing house.

"Why does he use your first name, but my last name?" Naruto asked. "How long has he been your butler?"

"Because, it would be confusing if he used Uchiha, there are two of us, and used to be three." Sasuke explained, his voice faraway and cold still. "Are you sure about this?"

"Well…I'm starting to have second thoughts, to be honest." Naruto admitted. "I mean, do you have to act like you have a stick up your ass the whole time we're here?"

"Only when we're around everyone." Sasuke offered him a brief smile, and his fingers brushed Naruto's, before turning to the door that was being held open for them. "Remember everything I told you."

"Ah…okay." Naruto cleared his throat and tried to not feel nervous as they passed through a column of household staff that bowed low as they passed. Waiting at the bottom of a magnificent staircase was a man who could only be Sasuke's brother, both from the way he held himself with such dignity, as though everything around him was completely under his control, and from the fact that he looked almost like he could be Sasuke's twin, besides the fact that his hair didn't stick up quite the way Sasuke's did, and the look on his face…it reminded Naruto of when he'd first met Sasuke, the coldness in his eyes had been the same, then.

"Welcome home, otouto." Itachi smiled, but it was a smile that made Naruto want to shiver with its frosty lack of emotion, and throughout it, his eyes stayed the same; cold, calculating, and distant.

"Onii-sama." Sasuke bowed to Itachi, and Naruto almost choked in surprise at the sight as Itachi ruffled his hair and he made no move to resist, his face impassive. He had never seen Sasuke subjugate himself to anyone without any hesitation, without even the slightest hint of resistance. He wanted to smack his lover, to ask him where his pride was now, but after all those warnings…he knew he should guard his tongue for once, if only for Sasuke's sake.

_It won't make it better if I rub his face in it._

"You never answer my phone calls, baby brother." Itachi affected a pout, but it looked more like an act than the smile. "So cold."

"I have been very busy with my studies." Sasuke responded in an emotionless monotone. "I must apologize, as I have neglected my filial obligations. I have not used my cell phone at all in the months since we parted, and did not realize."

_Liar._

Naruto couldn't tell exactly what was going on here, but he knew that Sasuke used his cell phone, he'd received calls and text messages from him on it, and called it in return many times. He seemed to be acting like he got along with his brother and wanted to speak to him, when in reality…everything he'd ever said to Naruto about his brother made it clear that he despised the older man.

"In the future, make sure not to forget your dear older brother." Itachi patted his head once more, but from the grunt that Sasuke let out, Naruto could see that he'd actually hit him, and he nearly stepped forward when he caught Sasuke's quelling glance. "And who is this?"

"This is my friend, Naruto Uzumaki." Sasuke stood and made a motion with his head to indicate that Naruto should bow as he had. Naruto was a bit annoyed, but he did want to make a good impression on Sasuke's family, so he lowered himself just as Sasuke had done.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Itachi-sama." He spoke politely, and wondered if Sasuke was at all surprised he knew how to speak formally at all. "Your brother speaks most highly of you."

"Welcome, Uzumaki-san." Itachi didn't pat his head, which was a relief, and Naruto stood straight once more, glancing out of the corner of his eyes at Sasuke, who continued to look completely impassive. "I am always pleased to have one of Sasuke's friends."

"Thank you for the warm reception, onii-sama, however, we are quite exhausted, and must request that we can be excused to retire for the night." Sasuke requested, and Itachi rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Have a room made up for Uzumaki-san." Itachi snapped his fingers, and a pair of women bowed and went swiftly up a back staircase. "You may retire for now, but in the morning, I expect to have a discussion with you. I've spoken with administration…I find your course selections to vary greatly from what I recommended, dear brother. Perhaps you forgot?"

"As you say." Sasuke answered, and Itachi swept away as they were escorted upstairs by yet another servant. Naruto couldn't wait to be alone with him, because he knew there was a lot going on that he couldn't see, and he just wanted to see Sasuke look at him the way he always did at school and speak frankly with him. He wanted to kiss him, to tell him that everything would be okay, and that if things were really so bad, they could leave, go anywhere he wanted.

"Goodnight, sir." The servant stopped after opening a door. "Will you require anything else tonight?"

"Nothing else, thank you." He gave Naruto a quick glance as the blonde was led away.

"We hope this is to your satisfaction." The servant bowed low as she opened the door for Naruto, and he raised his eyebrows at the sheer size of the chambers he would be staying in while he was here. "If there is anything you need, do not hesitate—"

"What's your name?" Naruto asked, and she blinked, momentarily surprised.

"Ansai." She answered, bowing again. "At your service."

"Does Itachi always treat Sasuke like a dog?" he asked, and she looked at him in utter shock.

"He…Master Itachi loves his brother deeply." She answered with some hesitation.

"Huh, okay." Naruto could see these servants were either too afraid of Itachi, or just too used to seeing Sasuke that way to notice anything out of sorts. "Thanks, Ansai! This looks great." He waved as she left, and she glanced back as though he'd grown a second head. Chuckling, he closed the door, locking it as Sasuke had instructed, and looked around the room, surprised by the opulence of his surroundings. Sasuke was used to all this, yet he lived with no complaints in a dorm? He felt like he was learning a lot of things about his lover just by seeing his childhood home. On one wall, there was a painting of a woman. She was beautiful, and the kindness in her eyes was palpable. He could see by looking at her that she was related to Sasuke. Perhaps his mother? How could someone so open and sweet seeming have raised two boys like Itachi and Sasuke? Maybe she was just an ancestor or something. He was still considering his surroundings when he heard a familiar sequence of knocks on his door and rushed to unlock it, letting Sasuke in with a brilliant smile.

"Sorry about all that." Sasuke sighed as he slumped into the room. "I knew it was a mistake to come back here."

"I don't know about your brother," Naruto chuckled as Sasuke locked the door and turned to him. "He's a little…controlling, it seems."

"You have no idea." Sasuke sighed and stretched. "I'm so exhausted after all that…you mind if we just go to sleep."

"Aww, it's okay." Naruto kissed Sasuke warmly as the other boy headed for the enormous four poster bed. "Hey, Sasuke, is that lady your mom?"

"Hmm, oh, yeah, that's her." Sasuke flopped onto the bed and looked like he would probably fall asleep within moments. Naruto pulled his shoes off for him, and then sat on the edge of the bed, removing his own shoes.

"She's beautiful." Naruto told him. "She looks so warm."

"She was." Sasuke smiled slightly as Naruto continued removing both of their clothes one item at a time. He couldn't resist brushing fingertips over his lover's tan skin, feeling the warmth that seeped out of him so readily.

"You freaked me out, to be honest." Naruto told him as he succeeded in his task of undressing them both and turned to trace a line down the middle of Sasuke's chest. "You were like you were when I first met you, I thought you were reverting to robot-Sasuke."

"Sorry," Sasuke shook his head. "It's easier if I just don't show any emotion with him. He just…he likes to hurt people, and if he thinks I can't feel anything anymore, it goes better."

"Why don't you just kick the crap out of him? Didn't you tell me you have an equal share of inheritance? It's not like he can cut you off, or even kick you out." Naruto pointed out, and Sasuke glanced away, his eyes becoming distant.

"It's…complicated." He answered.

"Hey, you know what would make you feel better?" Naruto asked, a wicked grin on his face, and Sasuke blinked up at him in question. Naruto chuckled, and then tickled Sasuke, an art of such complexity and difficulty it had taken him quite some time to master.

"Hey!" Sasuke squirmed, fighting the urge to laugh before he launched a counter-attack, and soon he had Naruto laughing uncontrollably under him, fighting desperately. "I win." Sasuke smiled as Naruto panted underneath him, and he couldn't resist grinding his hips down, just to hear Naruto moan a little. "I love you."

"I love you too." Naruto smiled before flipping their positions. "Time for your prize." He kissed Sasuke long and deep before scooting down and taking Sasuke's length in his mouth as the Uchiha let out a deep moan, his eyes rolling back in his head as he forgot about all the worries of the day, all the damaged pride, and everything else that was outside of this room, outside of this bed.

Naruto was all that mattered, anyway.

--

To be continued…


	17. Chapter 17

Everything in Between

Everything in Between

Chapter 17

--

"Ah, you look so refreshed, Sasuke." Itachi gave the fake smile that bothered Naruto so much as he swept his arm out, gesturing toward the table set for breakfast. "Come boys, join me."

"Morning," Naruto yawned as he sat down. "Is there coffee?"

"You must have been worn out last night, to sleep in so late." Itachi gestured, and a servant poured Naruto coffee as he flushed slightly. "Or perhaps you stayed up late?" he asked, and Naruto blinked, wondering if Itachi suspected anything.

"We both had just finished finals when we left, and the drive is long." Sasuke answered. "I apologize if we made you wait."

"Do you find being with Sasuke to be very demanding…may I call you Naruto?" Itachi turned to the blonde, who shot a panicked look at Sasuke, who was absolutely no help, as his lack of expression communicated nothing at all.

"Um…that's fine, if you want to call me Naruto." Naruto cleared his throat nervously. "I guess…I'm not sure what you mean?"

"Sasuke can be a very needy individual." Itachi explained. "Many of his friends find his company tedious and soon tire of him."

"No…I don't think so." Naruto was relieved he had just read too much into the question. "I think Sasuke is really fun to hang out with, the trick is getting him to smile."

"Oh, I'm sure you have your ways, Naruto." Itachi gave him that fake smile before turning on Sasuke, who was looking at his toast in a strange way, and Naruto could tell he was struggling to control himself, and wondered what it was about this conversation that was bothering him more than anything else Itachi did. "Sasuke, you be sure not to force your affections on your cute friend. Naruto, I hope you're aware that Sasuke is gay. Has he tried anything with you? He can often imagine he sees things between himself and another that are much greater than they are in truth."

"I don't—" Naruto cut himself short when Sasuke stood up abruptly.

"I feel sick, please excuse me." Sasuke gritted before leaving the room in a rush, without waiting for Itachi's leave. Naruto blinked at the door in shock before looking at Itachi, who affected an expression of shock.

"He has always been a bit weak." Itachi nodded as though this sort of display was common.

"I…I better go check on him." Naruto did not want to leave Sasuke alone, but he also recalled Sasuke telling him not to be caught alone with Itachi. There was a servant in the room, but he had a shrewd idea that if Itachi was going to do anything weird, the servant wouldn't stop him. He rushed out of the room, and immediately regretted his decision, as he had no idea where Sasuke might have gone, and the house was immense. "Hey! Hey!" he caught the servant who had carried in their things the night before. "Motsu?"

"Good morning, Master Uzumaki." He bowed, pausing on his path to doing whatever task he had been about to perform.

"Good morning! Um, have you seen Sasuke? He just ran out, and I wanted to make sure he was okay…" he trailed off as Motsu blinked at him, pursing his lips as though considering something carefully. "he said he was sick." He added, hoping that helped.

"Likely he has locked himself in either the washroom two doors this way," Motsu pointed in one direction, "Or the one at the base of the stairs," he pointed in the direction of the foyer Sasuke had entered the night before. "Otherwise, he has likely retired to his room."

"Thanks, Motsu!" Naruto wanted to hug the other man, but was pretty sure you weren't really supposed to do that, and also the guy would probably think it was weird.

"Sasuke?" he knocked on the door of the first bathroom, and the door opened after a moment, just a crack. Sasuke peered at him thoughtfully before opening the door and letting him in, and then locking it again. Naruto was amazed to see that Sasuke looked as though he had been crying. "Are…are you okay?" he asked, reaching up to brush away the trace of tears on his cheek.

"I'm fine." Sasuke told him. "I just…hate it here."

"Can you tell me…what was that all about?" Naruto asked. "I mean, it was a little weird, but was he…I mean, why are you crying?"

"I'm not." Sasuke took a deep breath and ran some cold water, splashing his face before drying it off.

"You were, I can tell." Naruto did not appreciate being brushed aside. "Just tell me. Is it something your brother did? Or something that happened to you? Was he making a reference to something like that?"

"It doesn't really matter." Sasuke shrugged, turning his face and trying to tell if the tear-stains still showed. "I just have to learn to ignore him better. I apologize."

"No." Naruto grabbed his shoulder and turned him, causing his eyes to widen in surprise. "Don't you _ever_ talk to me like that. I hate that tone, like you don't feel anything, like you don't care about anything. It hurts to hear it."

"I'm…I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking." Sasuke shook his head and embraced Naruto, breathing in his scent deeply. "I really do hate being here. The thought of another two weeks with him…"

"Hey, he can't do anything to us if we stay together." Naruto pulled back, kissing Sasuke softly, meeting his eyes and smiling warmly. "He might be a mean guy, but this is your house, too. We're in love, and he can't possibly understand that, so too bad for him."

"Naruto…" Sasuke sighed heavily. "I do love you."

"Are you going to tell me what got you so upset?" Naruto asked, and Sasuke frowned, shaking his head.

"I can't." he told Naruto. "You would get upset…and what's the point? It's in the past, after all."

"But it's still hurting you now." Naruto pointed out. Sasuke could see he wasn't going to get off so lightly, but he couldn't tell Naruto the truth…if he did…

_He'll leave me._

_He'll be disgusted, how could he not?_

"_You're sick."_

"Maybe later," he forced a smile. "Come on, we'd better go before Itachi sends for us." He exited the bathroom in a hurry and Naruto followed him back to the dining room, a bit put out, but determined to know what it was Sasuke was so upset about.

_He was crying._

_What in the world could possibly make Sasuke cry?_

He thought about all during breakfast, as he listened to what sounded like a formal negotiation meeting between Sasuke and Itachi, wherein Itachi expressed his disappointment with Sasuke's course choices, and Sasuke expressed his lack of concern for Itachi's disappointment. It was about an hour and a half of Itachi attempting to get Sasuke to swear he'd immediately start taking the courses his older brother thought would help him work in their family business, and Sasuke stubbornly insisting that it was his education, and since the funds for the education were guaranteed to him whether or not Itachi hand-picked his courses by the terms of their father's will, he would take whichever courses he wanted. It was actually rather nice to see Sasuke fighting back again, but he did it in a much more…repressed style when it was with Itachi.

Finally, they left, but Naruto had a feeling they would be hearing the same argument at every meal until one of the Uchihas gave in to the other, which seemed very unlikely. At least he knew that Sasuke could fight for something if it really mattered to him.

--

"Just don't respond if you don't like talking to him about it." Naruto sighed as he helped undress Sasuke and then motioned for him to lie on the bed. "Honestly, we only have one more week before we can kiss this place goodbye and go back to campus. We're over halfway there! And…honestly, it's not so bad when he's away, and tomorrow's Monday."

"Mmm, I know." Sasuke grumbled, and complied when Naruto motioned for him to flip over and lie on his stomach. "I just wish he'd leave me alone and let me make my own decisions."

"I think he knows about us, by the way." Naruto mentioned, not for the first time during their stay. "He said something about me walking stiff the other day, right after…well."

"After I topped?" Sasuke had never been a top before, but Naruto had insisted on letting him try it, at least, and he had been surprisingly pleased about it. "Are you sore?"

"Geez, for the fortieth time, no, I'm not freaking sore." Naruto rolled his eyes, climbing on top of Sasuke and beginning to work through the tension in his lover's back. "But yeah…it was, well, the way he said it was creepy. He said that if I needed help with any muscle strain, he could help me out, and he…well, he grabbed my butt."

"He…what?" Sasuke had gone so completely stiff, Naruto felt like he was sitting on a steel girder.

"It's no big deal, don't get upset!" Naruto assured him. "I think he was just teasing, but seriously…I'm pretty sure he knows."

"Well…then I'll just move my stuff in here." Sasuke was not fully relaxed yet, because the idea that Itachi had grabbed Naruto _anywhere_ filled him with rage. "Or you can move into my room. Do you care?"

"Whatever." Naruto laughed, happy at this idea. "Let's move into your room. Since, you know, it's your room. Oh man, this means no more secret knock!"

"We can still do the knock if you'll miss it." Sasuke gave half a grin, and Naruto dug into a tight knot, causing him to let out a low groan. "I don't know if I could have survived this without you."

"My pleasure." Naruto grinned cheekily. "Hey! Let's move my stuff tonight!" Naruto suggested.

"Ugh," Sasuke hesitated. "But you're rubbing my back…feels good."

"I know, so you owe me a favor afterwards, right?" Naruto teased, and Sasuke turned underneath him, blinking up at him.

"But we're both naked." He said. "We should probably have sex one last time so the room isn't sad."

"Well…if that'll make the room happy." Naruto rolled his eyes and yelped in surprise as Sasuke flipped him over on his back, hovering over the blonde.

"I wanted to try again," Sasuke flushed slightly. "If you don't—"

"I don't mind!" Naruto ground up against him. "As long as you do that thing you did last time."

"It's called a prostate, Naruto." Sasuke teased him, grinding against the blonde as they both hardened fully.

"It's sexier when you _do it_." Naruto breathed, and though Sasuke was sure he could never convince him of this, it was incredibly hot when he said things softly like that in bed. Naruto always thought he was clumsy and foolish, and just managing to get things done by luck, but Sasuke thought everything he did was amazing. He had been a quick learner, and every technique Sasuke had introduced, he bent himself to perfecting swiftly. Sasuke thought it was amazing he couldn't see how appealing he was. He couldn't understand why Itachi might see that, and he couldn't see why Sasuke would want to protect him. But it was true.

He was actually starting to enjoy it here, despite Itachi's looming presence and snide comments. Seeing where Sasuke had grown up, seeing pictures of his father and mother, hearing stories of his youth inspired by the surroundings…it made it worth dealing with Itachi. And besides that, he might talk, but in reality, Itachi wasn't an actual threat from anything Naruto could see. He just liked to cow people, but Naruto was a bit past caring about his meaningless comments and threats.

He had something so much more solid, so much better than all of that. If only Sasuke could see that what they had…what they felt, was something Itachi could never touch, no matter what he said.

And he wished Sasuke would tell him about the bad memories as well as the good ones, so that maybe he could understand better, those comments from Itachi which seemed to cut deeper for no apparent reason that Naruto could guess at. He wished that Sasuke could trust him to love him no matter what.

Nothing he could have been through in the past could change who he was today.

And Naruto would never give him up.

--

"Looking cute as ever, Sasuke-chan." Itachi had a friend over. Itachi had introduced him, and apparently his name was Kisame. Naruto disliked him with a quiet intensity from the first moment he saw his pasty, leering face. "This your boyfriend?"

"Fuck off." Sasuke apparently was not nearly as worried about his brother's friends as he was about his brother, and it was clear Itachi didn't mind seeing Sasuke be surly with Kisame either, as he merely chuckled at the exchange as though it had been an affectionate greeting exchanged by old friends.

"Why yes, Kisame, they led me to believe they were only friends." Itachi told his friend while Naruto focused on trying to imitate Sasuke stoic look, which was a bit difficult when Sasuke was simply glaring at Kisame. "But then, a few nights ago, all of Naruto's things somehow ended up in Sasuke's room, and now they seem to be in the midst of quite the love affair."

"Why would they keep something like that secret?" Kisame laughed. "Could it be that Sasuke-chan was worried his new boyfriend wouldn't measure up?"

"Well, who am I to say?" Itachi tossed his head slightly. "Sasuke, who would you say you preferred?" Naruto frowned in confusion at these words, especially when he saw Sasuke go pale as a ghost. "They say that nothing is ever as intense as the way one feels about their first love. Is that true, little brother?"

Sasuke ran out of the room, stumbling against an end table and causing a lamp to smash to the ground. Naruto was torn between asking them what they meant and running after his lover. Surely, Sasuke wouldn't explain. Every time something like this happened, he told Naruto he couldn't explain, that it would somehow make Naruto hate him, which seemed ridiculous to him. Nothing Sasuke could say would make him want to leave the other man.

"Still too soon?" Kisame shook his head and laughed. "Your brother is such a child." Naruto decided he couldn't stay here with these two without hitting someone, so he took off after Sasuke.

_Even if he won't ever tell me what all this is about…I can't turn my back on him, no matter what._

"Sasuke?" he knocked on their bedroom door, and after some shuffling noises, was admitted by Sasuke, who had been crying again. "Are you okay?" he asked as he was let in and the door was shut.

"I'm fine." Sasuke did this every time. There would be days without an outburst, and then Itachi would say something that would make Sasuke leave in a hurry. Before coming here, Naruto couldn't imagine ever seeing Sasuke cry. Now he knew that Itachi had gotten it down to a fine science. "I'm sorry, I just don't like Kisame very much."

"He's a bit creepy." Naruto agreed. "Sasuke…why won't you just tell me?"

"Tell you what?" Sasuke affected confusion, and Naruto let out a great sigh, throwing himself down on the bed.

"You know! About whatever it is that Itachi keeps talking about!" Naruto told him. "I mean, I love hearing about all the fun times you had when you were a kid, but I don't see why you think you can't tell me any of the sad stuff at all. Neither of us had great childhoods, it's not like I'll judge you."

"You say that because you don't know." Sasuke told him, smiling softly as he sat beside him on the bed. "If I told you…you wouldn't ever want to see me again, much less be with me."

"Did you secretly get a time machine and go back in time and kill my parents just to be a dick?" Naruto asked in great exasperation, and Sasuke had to repress a smile.

"No." he answered unnecessarily.

"Well then, I don't care! I don't care if you like, put fire ants in your mom's candy and she had to be put in the hospital and your father blamed her death on you or something like that! I don't care if you used to be a gang member and you stabbed someone! Just…just tell me what it is!" Naruto insisted, feeling like _he_ might start crying. "You tell me you love me, but you won't let me help when something's hurting you. Don't you trust me at all?"

"Naruto…do you really need to know?" Sasuke was wavering, and Naruto heaved a great sigh of relief. "Because…if you really want to know so badly, if it means so much to you…I mean, I'll have to tell you eventually, anyway, won't I? I can tell if I don't, Itachi's just waiting to tell the whole story at breakfast or something."

"I do want to know." Naruto told him, leaning over to kiss his forehead, placing a hand on his cheek and smiling at him encouragingly. "I always want to know everything about you. I love you."

"Okay." Sasuke took a deep breath, looked at the floor, turned back to Naruto, and opened his mouth again. "Okay." He looked like he could probably continue this several more times. "I…okay."

"Are you going to tell me, or just say okay a lot?" Naruto asked, and Sasuke pursed his lips in irritation at his own fear, his own weak inability to just _say it_.

_I know why I can't._

_Once I tell him…no matter how he acts now…he'll never act that way again. It doesn't matter, though. I can tell Itachi's building it up to tell him, and it's better if he hears it from me, at least…Itachi could make something innocent sound horrible._

_And this is nowhere near innocent._

"When I was fourteen, I realized I was gay." Sasuke burst right into the story, not knowing where he was going to start until the words were out. Naruto nodded, knowing that couldn't be what was bothering Sasuke, that there had to be something deeper going on. "I knew I was supposed to like girls. Of course, everyone knows what's expected by that age. But…I couldn't make myself see them that way. And there were a couple guys I had noticed, and I was trying to decide if I just was still too young to know what I wanted…but then…the way it started was stupid."

He tried to laugh, but was only able to cough and glance at Naruto, who looked entirely serious, and entirely focused on him. "Well, you know sometimes little kids will practice kissing with each other? I remember when I was really little…back then, Itachi was my hero, and I was always following him, wanting him to play with me, pay attention to me, teach me things, anything. And he had this little period where he seemed interested in kissing, and we had practiced on each other. I was just a little kid, and I didn't know…that would be weird or anything, and we never said anything, but I always had this image… that was the way it was supposed to be. And I started to realize that not only was I attracted to only men…I was really attracted to…to Itachi." Sasuke tried to read Naruto's expression, but it was very blank, as if he was not surprised at all, or too surprised to even express it.

"And I knew by then, I knew you weren't supposed to do that sort of thing, especially not with your own family. But I guess…I mean, I thought it was all the same. You aren't supposed to fall in love with a man, and you aren't supposed to feel that way about your brother. I thought…well, if I already know one, then I can't really fight the other…" Sasuke explained, and noticed Naruto's face, still perfectly blank. "I wanted him, but I didn't know what to do about it. So one day, I just went to his room after school, told him I wanted to talk. Back when we used to talk, you know. And when the door was closed, I kissed him, because I never knew what to say, how to tell him, and then…he kissed me back." He paused, no longer able to look over at Naruto, only trying his hardest to repress his tears to little effect.

"I was so happy. I thought…if Itachi felt the same way as me, how could it be wrong? My father always praised him so much, and I wanted to be just like him, and I loved him, and now I saw that he loved me too. It was the best feeling." Sasuke was hunched over, his tears falling slowly to hit his legs. "It went on…for months. No one suspected anything. It started off pretty innocent, but Itachi's much older, and he was already used to…well, everything…you know. We were sleeping together, and I thought that since he was my brother, we could always stay together, even if men aren't allowed to be married, and I knew that I only wanted to be with him. Then…father told him he needed to think about a wife…and I begged him not to marry anyone." Here he had to stop completely, breaking down into a heart-rending sob before composing himself just enough to continue the story.

"He laughed at me." Sasuke could still see the scene with perfect clarity in his memory. "I told him I loved him, and I begged him to stay…I was so upset, I thought he might stop loving me…but then he said…he told me that I was sick…for thinking that he could love me…like that. He never came to me again." Sasuke let one more sob rack his frame before he wrapped things up. "He never married, either…obviously. He told all his friends…and he likes to bring it up…he thinks…thinks it's funny that I fell in love so easily…with…with him."

"Sasuke…" Naruto had been frozen for most of the story, and even now, he wasn't sure what to say. "How…how could you…"

"No!" Sasuke stood up at once. "I already know! I know it was wrong, and that it's sick…sick to love your brother! I know I'm a freak, you don't have to tell me that, he makes sure I remember it every day! I just wish I could…wish I could close my heart off completely, so I never felt anything! I know what you're thinking of me, and I wish…I wish it didn't hurt like this…" he turned and ran out of the room, and Naruto rose to follow him, his movements slowed down as though he was trying to move through water.

"But I wasn't…" Naruto reached the hall and found he had no idea where Sasuke would have gone. He picked a direction at random and started forward, hoping to happen upon him by luck. He ran into Itachi after a few steps, looking alarmed for once, and rushing towards Sasuke's room.

"Naruto!" Itachi's change in mood and appearance were a great shock to Naruto, who looked at the older man as if he'd grown a second head. Also, after hearing Sasuke's story, it was hard to see him in quite the same light. "Sasuke just ran out of here and drove off. Did he tell you where he was going? Is everything all right?"

"He…well, he just needed to clear his head a bit." Naruto guessed. He wasn't going to tell Itachi what they'd been talking about.

"He left without you?" Itachi sounded surprised, and Naruto felt like he might start crying from the way the words stung.

"He'll…he'll be back." He had to believe that. Did Sasuke really believe that Naruto would just toss away everything they had? The story had not been anything like what he'd expected, but Sasuke had been young and made a mistake. Kids did really stupid things sometimes, and if anyone should be held reprehensible for what had happened, it was Itachi, who had gone along with it, even though he was older and apparently never felt the same way, leading poor Sasuke on.

"Okay, thank you." Itachi nodded, the fake smile back. "If you believe he will return, I am sure he will." Naruto wondered if he even cared about Sasuke being gone, or if he was just so used to acting that it was hard for him to stop.

_I know punching him won't fix all that, won't make Sasuke feel better. But it might make me feel at least a little better._

Naruto mastered himself and turned away. "I'm going to bed, so if he comes home…"

"I'll let him know." Itachi left, and Naruto went back to their room. He hesitated before leaving the door unlocked. If Sasuke came while he was asleep, he'd be locked out unless he knocked loud enough to wake Naruto, which would have to be very loud, and he wanted Sasuke back as soon as possible. He grabbed his cell phone and dialed Sasuke's number, but tossed it down again when he heard Sasuke's phone ringing from the other side of the room.

_I guess that would've been too easy._

Naruto didn't think he would be able to fall asleep, but not long after he laid down, exhaustion overtook him.

--

"I use this room as an office, but you're welcome to sleep here." Itachi led Sasuke into one of the spare rooms after having come downstairs from leading Naruto to believe his brother was nowhere in the mansion. "Are you having a fight with your little boyfriend?"

"Itachi, please." Sasuke's voice was strained, and Itachi could tell he was at the breaking point. Perfect. His brother bypassed the desk and went straight for the unused bed in the room.

"If you can't sleep, feel free to make use of the computer." Itachi smiled. "I don't keep that one locked, so you don't need a password."

"Good night." Sasuke grumbled, and Itachi closed the door, walking with a spring to his step. He went to speak to Kisame, and made sure after half an hour to bid him goodnight and have him out the door. Conditions were perfect for something so monumental, Sasuke would never forget it.

It took him a bit of time to get his hair right, but the clothes were easy enough. Not as though it would make a lot of difference in the dark. The voice would have been hard, but luckily, his brother wasn't a big talker, and Itachi thought he could get by without having to speak.

When everything was ready, he glanced at the clock. Good. Naruto had to be asleep by now, and Sasuke would probably still be having a rough time. Even if Sasuke was an idiot and slept through everything, he could always make sure he saw it tomorrow. Itachi felt like laughing as he snuck up the stairs and tested the door.

_Too easy. He didn't even lock it._

He'd been prepared to pick the lock, but Naruto was almost _asking_ for this to happen, wasn't he? Itachi padded into the room, closing the door and locking it this time. He would have his fun, and he wouldn't have any shining knights coming in to rescue their sweet little boyfriend. After all he'd seen, he knew Naruto wasn't so sweet and innocent as he appeared, and he was ready to taste the blonde for himself. Stripping down, he noticed the lump in the bed stirring and climbed in next to him.

"Sasuke," Naruto turned over, wrapping his arms around Itachi, his voice thick with emotion. "I was so worried when you left like that. I just want you to know, though, that what you said…it means a lot that you would tell me that." He kissed Itachi, and the dark haired man let his hands travel to Naruto's body. "I wanted to tell you, I don't care about your brother; nothing he's done means anything to me. I want you, and I don't care about what's happened in the past. Just…just stay with me now, and don't leave." He kissed Itachi again, and this time, Itachi responded with more vigor, yanking Naruto's underwear down. "Whoa!" Naruto yelped as he flipped the blonde over, and without further ado, slid into him. "Ah! Wait!" Naruto struggled slightly in discomfort at the sudden invasion, and Itachi laughed, causing Naruto to completely panic as he realized that the man in his bed was not Sasuke.

--

Sleep was evading Sasuke, and as much as he wanted to run upstairs and beg Naruto to forge about everything he'd done and to please just love him, Sasuke knew better. Begging someone to love him had never worked before, and he wouldn't force himself on someone so sweet as Naruto.

_He always deserved better than me._

Getting up, he paced for a while before deciding to kill some time and possibly tire himself out playing on the computer. Itachi used to play a lot of games, and he was betting there would be something mindless he could do until he fell over, dead tired.

Pulling up the chair, he moved the mouse about and hovered over the start button when he saw something he found hard to ignore. There was a folder on the desktop, and for some reason, the title of the folder was NARUTO. What was his brother doing with a folder on his desktop named after Sasuke's lover?

_Ex-lover, now._

He couldn't let it pass by without investigating, and while he knew it was best to stay out of other people's business, he felt certain that anything to do with Naruto was more his business than Itachi's. Inside the folder were a list of video files with dates and times listed as their names, as well as a webpage link. Ignoring the link for the moment, Sasuke double-clicked on one of the video files at random, dated six days ago for the middle of the day.

_Is that…Naruto's old room?_

The realization filled Sasuke with a crawling sense of dread and disgust. His suspicions were confirmed when he focused on the figures on the bed, which seemed to be the center of the shot, as though the camera was trained on that area. One was clearly himself, and the other was Naruto, laying underneath him and speaking softly, but somehow, the audio was perfectly clear.

"_I want you to, just try it once to see if you like it." Naruto told the Sasuke on top of him. "You should be able to do whichever way you want, but how do you know if you just let me top every time."_

"_Okay, but it can make you sore, and I don't want—"_

Sasuke clicked further on the progress bar and was greeted with the sights and sounds of him making love to Naruto, the blonde's legs up over his shoulders, both of them crying out, enjoying the luxury of sex in the middle of the day while Itachi was at work. He grimaced and closed the window. He clicked on another and was greeted with something similar. Every file seemed to chronicle the sexual escapades of Naruto and himself while they had been back at the estate.

_He bugged the rooms…and he's been watching us this whole time…_

It was amazing to think that five years ago, he would have probably thought this was romantic. Now he thought he was going to be sick. And also have to kill Itachi.

_I don't care if I have to pay for separate rooms. Naruto and I are going to a hotel in the morning. It's only a couple days before campus is open, and even if he hates me now, I doubt he'll want to stay when I tell him…_

Almost having forgotten about it, Sasuke now clicked on the link, and it pulled up a page that took a bit of time to load. He had a suspicion when he saw there was a video playback window it would be some sort of streaming feed, but he did not expect to see anything besides Naruto sleeping.

He certainly didn't expect to see Naruto in bed with someone else. The night vision wasn't perfect, but it was clear the other man was Itachi. Naruto was kissing him.

"_I wanted to tell you, I don't care about your brother; nothing he's done means anything to me. I want you, and I don't care about what's happened in the past. Just…just stay with me now, and don't leave."_

Sasuke felt as though something in him cracked, and he watched in silent disbelief as his brother flipped his lover over and started fucking him roughly with much yelping and bucking on Naruto's part. Itachi started laughing, and Sasuke realized he was looking straight at the camera. He knew…he knew that Sasuke would find this, and he'd timed it so that he would see…

He supposed he was meant to start crying, to be filled with despair at the sight of Naruto with Itachi like this, saying those things, letting Itachi take him, hearing Itachi's mocking laughter. He assumed Itachi thought it would break him, and that he would be capable of nothing but moping. Unfortunately, he felt that his first priority was to beat the shit out of both of them. Itachi…that was almost expected, for him to do something so heartless. But Naruto?

_Did you ever mean it? Any of those times you said you loved me?_

"_I don't care about your brother."_

Sasuke ran out of the room, slamming the door so hard he heard it crack and raced up the stairs full of righteous fury. He cried out in frustration when he found the door was locked, but he wasn't going to be defeated so easily. He stepped back, squared his shoulder, and rushed the door. He felt it give, but it stayed stubbornly closed. He rushed at it twice more before it blasted open, the lock broken, and he came to a halt in the dark room, flipping on the lights so he could see better what he was about to do.

"Sasuke!" Naruto cried out in panic, tears streaming down his face as he squirmed under Itachi, who seemed surprised to see Sasuke, but not really disturbed enough to stop. "Sasuke, please!"

Sasuke grabbed a lamp, rushed at Itachi, who had turned back to his task, and smashed it over his head, knocking his brother out cold. He heaved him off of Naruto, who was openly crying and crawled toward him.

"Sasuke, thank god you—" he was cut off when Sasuke kicked him, and he wheezed, looking Sasuke with pain.

"I hope that hurts!" Sasuke yelled. "How could you! How could you fuck him behind my back? How long!?" he kicked Naruto again and leapt up onto the bed, pinning him down as he continued to cry and now tried to get away. "How _long_?!"

"I wasn't!" Naruto sobbed. "I wasn't! I thought it was you, and I didn't know…didn't know until he laughed! He didn't talk at all, just let me say whatever I wanted, like he was you, and then…he took me…he…he…" Naruto completely lost his ability to speak at this point, the tears pouring down his cheeks as he attempted to escape from Sasuke, who suddenly loosened his grip, falling back with a completely shocked look on his face.

"_I wanted to tell you, I don't care about your brother; nothing he's done means anything to me. I want you, and I don't care about what's happened in the past. Just…just stay with me now, and don't leave."_

_Those things…he meant to say that to me?_

_Itachi…he knows that we look alike…he must have been planning this, waiting for this chance._

"You didn't lock the door?" he asked dully, and Naruto, who was huddled in one corner of the room sniffling and crying much more softly, shook his head. "And he just climbed in here with you…how would you guess…how would you know…until he already had you down…" Sasuke gritted his teeth, looked at his collapsed brother and flipped him over, his hands going to Itachi's neck in fury. "You…dirty…fuck! How…could…you!?"

"No…don't." the tone was shaky and soft, but it was Naruto, and Sasuke stopped at once, looking at him in question.

"He raped you!" Sasuke howled in anger, and Naruto stood up, wincing.

"Not that bad." He forced a smile, and Sasuke ignored Itachi in favor of getting Naruto some clothes. "You don't need to kill him or anything. Let's just leave."

"Not that bad." Sasuke scoffed as he gave Naruto the clothes he'd been wearing that day and he quickly put them on. "You can't be raped 'not that bad.' I think it defeats the whole purpose of the word."

"Well, when I thought it was you, it wasn't a problem." Naruto offered him a watery smile. "It's just when I realized…" his lip quivered, and Sasuke crushed him in a hug.

"Stop, we'll talk about it when we get to a hotel, okay?" Sasuke was amazed to realize that he was no longer worried about his own problems, about his own trauma. All that mattered was Naruto.

_Besides, he already told me he didn't care. At least, that's what he was trying to do._

"I'm so stupid! How could I not tell?" Naruto had started crying again despite Sasuke's admonition, and Sasuke didn't really know what to do besides making sure they had all of their things and getting Naruto the hell out of there.

"Don't feel bad, we look a lot alike. Plus, did you see he'd done his hair so it looked like mine, even." Sasuke assured Naruto as they left the estate behind them. "Stop blaming yourself. I shouldn't have left you alone."

"I should have locked the door." Naruto sniffled, and Sasuke sighed, smiling at him sadly and reaching over to take Naruto's hand in his own.

"I should have never brought you home. I'm sorry." He apologized, and Naruto smiled back at him, the same sad look on his face.

"This is probably the worst winter break ever." Naruto pointed out as they pulled into a hotel, and Sasuke couldn't help laughing, leaning over to kiss Naruto, who seemed surprised by the affection.

"I love you." Sasuke assured him, realizing what Naruto must be thinking. "No matter what."

"No matter what." Naruto smiled slowly, and this time, he actually looked happy. "Me too."

The hotel bed was much smaller than Sasuke's, but they didn't care. There was enough room for both of them to lay together holding each other, and that was all they needed.

--

To be continued…


	18. Chapter 18

Everything in Between

Everything in Between

Chapter 18

--

The first night had been relatively quiet, punctuated with a few sniffles or subdued sobs from Naruto. Sasuke was beyond being sad about what had happened. He had not thought Itachi would look for them extremely hard, since he had done everything to drive them out of the house. He focused on comforting Naruto, who, though he had been assured Sasuke still loved him at least, was struggling with himself anyway. He couldn't help blaming the incident entirely on himself, just as Sasuke couldn't help blaming himself in turn. If he had been there…if he had read the signs…if he had been more open with Naruto, explained why he needed to lock the door. He wasn't sure whether he should tell Naruto about how after the Incident, Itachi had sometimes snuck into his room and done something rather similar to him. He wasn't sure it would make Naruto feel better.

_Besides…when he did that, I knew it was him. I would wake up thinking he was being rough, but that he must have changed his mind, he must have realized he loved me…_

It hadn't been long before he shut down all of those hopes, before he started to see Itachi in an entirely different light. He had taken to locking his doors. He hadn't told anyone, as he wasn't sure what could be done, considering he used to seek these attentions out from him. It would be a very hard sell in the courts, he still knew. He also knew even Naruto's case would be tough, considering the video full of proof that he had initiated, and only just after Naruto started to see something was wrong, Sasuke had burst in and stopped the whole thing. Sasuke knew Itachi's lawyers would have no problem not only proving that Naruto's case was baseless, but also bringing up charges against Sasuke for assault.

_Sometimes…I wish Itachi would die._

_But I think it actually hurts him more if I just cut him out of my life completely. He hates to be ignored, but he has no true power over me, no claim he can stake._

While he stayed up that first night, stroking Naruto's head and calming him whenever he woke up in fear that Itachi had found them, Sasuke thought of all these things. He decided that he would never return to his childhood home unless Itachi had died. He would change his phone number, and then…

The question was, if Itachi really wanted to find him, he knew where Sasuke went to school. He had already been able to easily get information from the administration. He shouldn't have any problem turning up in the night and somehow getting into the dorms. If he really wanted to

Could he trust in Itachi's hesitation to do anything that could actually get him in trouble with the law? Or would he be forced to negotiate for the assurance that Naruto would be able to sleep safely every night, with untroubled dreams? Near dawn, Sasuke had a thought, and while he wasn't sure it would work, since he wasn't sure if Itachi ran a business the same way he ran his personal life, he still knew it was his best bet for now, and it could at least buy some time, if it didn't work

He kissed Naruto softly on the head, extricating himself from his lover's arms and grabbing his cell phone, stepping out onto the balcony and sliding the door shut quietly behind him, keeping an eye on Naruto to make sure he didn't panic at waking up alone or anything of that sort. He called his brother.

Itachi answered promptly, as if he had been waiting for Sasuke's call, and pouted for a bit about how they had run out so impolitely while he was still "asleep." Sasuke ignored him and told him what his demands were. He would never be contacted by Itachi or his friends, nor would any of Sasuke's friends, especially not Naruto. None of them would come anywhere near him, nor would they call him, nor would they send him emails or any other form of contact, electronic or otherwise. The files would be deleted, not to be distributed in any way, as would any copies, and all traces of the feed would be destroyed.

Itachi laughed, and told Sasuke if he wanted a restraining order to try getting the court to grant him one. Sasuke knew this was meant to make him rage and yell and threaten Itachi. Instead, he focused on remaining calm. He told Itachi it would be a shame to have to blow the whistle, but that he knew what Itachi had been doing with his money, and he just did not know how long Itachi would be put in jail for once the books were examined thoroughly. He sighed and said it would be sad to see their father's business ruined.

Itachi remained silent for a long time, then. Sasuke tried not to hold his breath. He didn't want Itachi to know he was bluffing, that he had no idea if Itachi was actually using any sort of questionable accounting or business practices, but after a very long silence, Itachi only said, "Very well, I will agree to your terms."

He immediately hung up, clearly bitter at being outmaneuvered, but Sasuke couldn't care less if he hurt Itachi's feelings. He felt exuberant as he opened the balcony door, came back into the hotel room, and climbed into bed with Naruto, who shifted about slightly, muttered something about cold feet, opened his eyes and gasped, and then smiled to see it was only Sasuke, it was always Sasuke.

Sasuke hoped it always would be.

He kissed Naruto, assuring him over and over again that he had taken care of everything, it would be all right now.

The next night was a great deal worse. It apparently really hadn't been so bad for Naruto that first night because he really didn't have any time to think about it. Less than an hour from Itachi's attack, Naruto had been in a hotel with Sasuke, and for all he knew, his attacker was still collapsed in Sasuke's bed back at the estate with a possible concussion. The next day, however, Naruto spent a long time silently contemplating the situation. Finally, he had wanted to know how Sasuke had known, if he had heard the screams, if he had really left the house as Itachi claimed, and if not, where had he been?

Sasuke was hesitant to share everything with Naruto, since even he had been disturbed by the video files and the streaming feed Itachi had set up, and he was used to his brother's behavior. But he knew that it was unfair to keep it secret, since it concerned Naruto at least as much as it concerned Sasuke, if not more. However, as soon as he completed his explanation, Naruto went into a panic, convinced that Itachi would put the videos online for everyone to see. It would be embarrassing if he had, of course, but Sasuke knew that Naruto was more concerned about the video that would be from last night than any of the others.

He explained that he had threatened Itachi with a thorough financial investigation of his firm if he did not do exactly as Sasuke instructed, and told him that of course he had demanded all files deleted, no new files to be made, and absolutely no distribution of these files. He explained all of his other demands as well, and while Naruto seemed a bit relieved, he wouldn't calm down until Sasuke pulled out his computer, linking into the hotel's wireless network, and helped Naruto search for any hint of the videos without any luck. Itachi could have posted them without names to make them harder to find, of course, but Sasuke knew if he had posted them, he would have made them easy to find, to assure they would have to be aware of the fact that their private lives were being broadcast, and there was no telling how many people had already seen. He explained all of this to Naruto, but the blonde couldn't seem to stop worrying.

That night, Naruto went to bed fully dressed, and he kept muttering and crying out in his sleep. He woke up several times, and after the first time, when he mistook Sasuke for Itachi and attacked him in a panic to defend himself, Sasuke moved to a chair right next to the bed, not really wanting to be hit anymore, but also not wanting Naruto to wake up alone. Three times, he woke and told Sasuke that Itachi was at the door, curling up in fear and not going back to sleep until Sasuke showed him there was no one there. By the time Naruto woke for the day, Sasuke was completely exhausted, since the last time he'd slept had been three nights ago. He fell asleep in the chair, and woke up feeling sore all over.

"Hey." Naruto's voice was injured sounding, and Sasuke couldn't help thinking that this was all his fault, that he had broken something inside of the other man, and he didn't deserve his love or his forgiveness. "Sorry about all that."

"Idiot," Sasuke yawned, standing to stretch. "It's my fault. I should have never taken you there, should have never—"

"Sasuke?" Naruto piped up, and the Uchiha stopped his apology to hear what he had to say. "Can you please do me a favor?"

"Of course, whatever you need." Sasuke agreed at once.

"I need you to…well, could you make love to me?" Naruto went brilliantly red at his own request, and Sasuke's jaw went slack. "I mean…if you don't want to anymore, I understand. I just thought…if you could do that, maybe I wouldn't feel so…dirty."

"Of course I want to." Sasuke scoffed. "But…I mean, aren't you still…sore? Or scared?"

"I'm not sore." Naruto assured him. "I'm a little scared, but I know this is what I need, to remind me that it's…what it's really like. I don't want to keep seeing him, to keep feeling him…I just want you. I only want to see you. Please, Sasuke."

"Okay," Sasuke relented after thinking it over. "Do you want to top?"

"Not this time." Naruto told him. "It has to be you this time." Sasuke had somewhat expected that, but the thought of going through with this made him extremely nervous. He nodded, starting to undress himself, eyes trained on Naruto the whole time, looking for him to hesitate, to change his mind, but he only looked determined, the way he always did when confronting a challenge.

Soon, he was completely undressed, and he began removing Naruto's clothes. It seemed their breathing and the rustling of the clothes were unnaturally loud, and Sasuke realized that usually, they talked and laughed and kissed while doing all of this. Without that…it became suddenly solemn somehow.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his voice soft as he finally stripped Naruto bare. The blonde nodded, determination still dominating his expression. "Lay down." He climbed into the bed, and Naruto complied, his breath quickening. It felt to Sasuke almost as it had their first time. Naruto, clearly worried but not wanting to let it show. Sasuke, taking it very slowly, wanting to make Naruto's worries dissolve completely before moving forward. He pulled Naruto toward him, making him turn onto his side so they were facing each other, and kissing him softly, slowly. There was no rush here. He could take hours, if he needed to. He continued just kissing Naruto, on his mouth, on his cheeks, his forehead, his jaw line, his ears, his throat, his neck, his shoulders, his chest.

"I love you," he breathed as he worked his way back up. He pulled back, drinking in the sight of his lover, tan skin and wild blonde hair, brilliant blue eyes and lips red and swollen from kissing. "You're so beautiful." He didn't usually talk about Naruto's appearance, feeling as though obviously Naruto must realize that he found him attractive, but today…he realized no matter how obvious, sometimes people needed to hear the words. Naruto blinked at him in shock.

"Me? I'm not…you're the one…you are…" he blustered, not knowing what to say.

"No, you are." Sasuke assured him, his fingers tracing the line at the side of his face. "You're so beautiful it hurts sometimes." He kissed Naruto's forehead again. "You're perfect."

Naruto's face scrunched up at that, his lip trembling as a few tears broke free, and he looked away, ashamed. "How can you say that?"

"Because it's true." Sasuke told him, moving to hover over him, his hand holding Naruto's chin so he couldn't look away. "Do you honestly think you'd be different to me because of what Itachi did? You're still Naruto, no matter what."

"But…before…how can you trust me?" he asked, more tears spilling down his face.

"Do you trust _me_?" Sasuke demanded, and Naruto blinked at him, bewildered, before nodding slowly. "After everything I've done, you still trust me. You did _nothing_. You were tricked into something, forced to do things you didn't want to. How could I stop trusting you because of that?"

"You were so angry." Naruto's voice was meek, and it broke Sasuke's heart to know how much damage had been done in one night.

"I'm sorry…the way it looked at first…I thought you knew it was him, but I never should have. I should have _known_ you wouldn't do that to me." Sasuke blinked away the tears in his own eyes. He needed to be strong now. "Don't blame yourself for my stupidity. I couldn't think straight…when I saw him…with you…it hurt worse than anything I've ever felt. The thought that you would leave me…I couldn't bear it."

"I won't ever leave you." Naruto assured him, and they kissed again, slow and sweet. They continued to kiss and touch let the feelings between them build slowly until they couldn't take it anymore, and Naruto urged Sasuke to fill him. Even then, they moved slowly, kissing and whispering sweet words with every languid movement. Naruto forgot to be afraid, and all they could see was each other, all they could feel was the heat between them, and all the doubts flew away.

When it was over, they continued to kiss until they both fell asleep.

Naruto didn't have any nightmares.

--

"Oh, great." Shikamaru grimaced and dropped his bag as he opened the door to his room to see Sasuke and Naruto completely naked, engaged in activities Shikamaru had hoped never to actually witness. He closed the door swiftly, and resigned himself to waiting for them to finish before he could at least drop his luggage off. Sighing, he considered just taking a nap on the ground right outside his door. Of course, when he specifically came back to campus before classes started just to catch up on his sleep, his room was taken over by Sasuke and Naruto, who apparently also needed to catch up on their…bed usage.

However…it could be that some of his other friends were also back, and he could always spent this time in exile napping on one of _their_ beds. In fact…he could just go to Naruto's room! Shikamaru _knew_ he was back, and he had no current need of his bed, as he'd seemed to be enjoying Sasuke's just fine. Feeling pleased with his quick thinking, Shikamaru strode down the hall to claim a bed, only to discover that Naruto's room was locked.

Naruto's room was _never_ locked.

"Hey there," Ino's voice caused Shikamaru to feel flushed, and he turned to face her, licking his lips nervously. "You're back early."

"I'm catching up on my sleep." He realized as he said it that no part of that sentence could possibly appeal to Ino, or any other girl, for that matter.

"Oh, has your own room been claimed in the name of gay boy love?" she nodded sadly at the disconsolate look on his face. "Yes, I expected as much. I could hear them at it earlier. Sometimes they can get noisy, especially when they think they have the whole floor to themselves."

"Why are you back so early?" he asked, not really keen on the subject of Naruto and Sasuke at the moment, as he was still trying to scrub the image of them together from his mind.

"To see you," she winked at him, and he couldn't decide whether or not she was joking. Ino could be very hard to read when she wanted. After all, he hadn't told her he was planning on going back early, as his whole scheme had been to have the floor to himself. Unfortunately, he wasn't the only one with that idea, and two of the other people had arrived before him and taken over his room as their own. "Come on, then. You can use my room if you need sleep."

"Oh…" Shikamaru tried not to blush, tried not to think about what had happened to him the last several times he'd gone to Ino's room. He had tried not to think of it while he was home, either, and had spent several nights tossing and turning, driven nearly to distraction. It didn't make any logical sense. He knew that Ino could be devious, and that he probably shouldn't trust anything she did as being straightforward, but he also couldn't help admiring her for the same plotting that made him want to be wary of her. He knew that she didn't care about him as anything more than a friend. She didn't follow him around and bake for him or anything like what she'd done with Sasuke, but he couldn't help thinking that for some reason known only to her, she'd decided that she wanted to be intimate with him. She wasn't pressuring him into a relationship, though, so he knew it couldn't really mean anything to her…but he also knew that she wasn't sharing herself with anyone else. At least…he didn't think she was. And the thought that she might be…but that was nonsense! What was there to be jealous of?

"Help yourself, beds abound in here, none of them full of boys yet." Ino smiled as she swept her arm about the room. "Tenten's not back. I'm pretty sure she's having a secret hot springs tryst with Shino, but don't tell her I know, because I don't think I was supposed to overhear that conversation. Of course, you can use my bed as well. I'm sure it misses you."

"Okay," he didn't want to think about why he would choose to sleep in Ino's bed rather than Tenten's when he knew no one would be needing Tenten's bed at all. He didn't want to think about whether Ino was teasing him again, or whether she was trying to say she'd missed him. This was why he didn't want a girlfriend. Far too troublesome. Taking off his pants and socks, he tried to act completely natural as he climbed into the bed in his underwear and shirt. It wasn't like he was naked or anything. And besides, she had already seen him naked, so it really wasn't a big deal.

"Sleep well," Ino bent over him and kissed his temple, and he knew she must be teasing. Why would she do that unless she was teasing? "What?" she asked, and he blinked at her before seeing that at some point, his idiot hand had grabbed her wrist, so when she tried to leave him, she felt a tug on her arm. "Was there something you wanted?"

_Now I know she's teasing. She can't actually be interested in doing anything with me. She was just stressed out because of finals, and she needed to let off steam. Things will go back to normal now._

"How was your break?" he asked, and couldn't for the life of him fathom why he would have invited Ino to talk. Wasn't he trying to catch up on his sleep? She could talk endlessly, and then he'd _never_ get any rest.

"It was fine. My parents put me to work right away, of course." She tilted her head and rolled her eyes. "But they paid me, so it's cool."

"Put you to work?" he asked, and he couldn't _believe_ it. He must be delirious after the strain of all his mother's nagging for weeks. He was being interested in Ino's life for no clear reason. And it was cutting into his sleep break!

"Oh, yeah, my parents own a flower shop." Ino sat down on the edge of the bed, reaching over to pull out the ponytail he hadn't actually taken out in days, mostly because it annoyed his mother when he showered and slept with it in. "Your hair's a mess. Could I comb it out?"

"If you don't try to give me braids and ribbons." Shikamaru decided he could take a nap later. After all, it was nice to just talk with his friends after being gone for so long. Ino wasn't going anywhere, but neither was her bed. He sat up, and Ino grabbed a comb off of her nightstand. Of course, with all her hair, she'd have implements within reach to deal with all of the problems it could have.

"Oh man, you're never any fun." She giggled as she clambered behind him, sitting so that her legs were against his own legs, and her body wasn't completely flush against his back…but he was very aware of how close she was to him. "I have been wanting to brush your hair out for ages. It's actually really nice, if you would just take care of it." She chided gently as she started at the ends, working her way up slowly, careful not to pull to hard on the tangles that permeated the mass of dark hair.

"Well, I don't really care what it looks like, to be honest." Shikamaru told her. "I just grow it out because I think it's troublesome to go get a haircut more than once a year. Also, it annoys my mom."

"Do you not get along with your parents?" she asked, and he closed his eyes as she continued combing out his hair. It was surprisingly relaxing. He'd never had anyone else do anything with his hair, and it annoyed his mother so much that he didn't think he could have asked her to comb it for him without getting a smack in the back of the head and a bunch of extra chores.

"I do," he told her. "My dad is a lot like me…as little effort as humanly possible, you know. But he's really smart, so he doesn't have any trouble supporting the family. He's a professor, but he just makes his grad students do all the grading and actually has them teach a bunch of his lessons."

"Sounds like your idol." Ino teased. "What about your mom?"

"She's always nagging, you know, trying to get him to do things around the house, but I think he likes it. He says she's annoying, but I can tell they're happy. I mean, you know when it's your parents." Shikamaru explained, and Ino made an affirmative noise to show she understood. "She's an accountant, so she's really annoyed that even though I'm good at math I'm doing philosophy like dad. She says I'm like a clone of him and I'll just end up driving my wife crazy."

"You aren't really that lazy." Ino pointed out. "If you have something you care about, you work hard for it."

"It may look that way, but I don't really think I've ever worked hard for anything." Shikamaru shrugged. "I mean, the reason I went to this school was I knew I wouldn't have to try that hard. Like, it's a good school, so I'll be able to get into a master's program, but it isn't so god that I have to try hard."

"But you worked so hard on your finals." Ino mused. "You were staying up late to get them done and everything."

"Well…they were troublesome, I wanted them done." Shikamaru flushed and was glad she couldn't see his face where she was sitting.

"Of course." She didn't question him, simply continuing to comb out his hair, and he sighed, finding it extremely soothing. He never thought that being around Ino could actually be…relaxing. Although he did suppose that every time they'd had sex, he had slept rather well afterwards. But sex was much more physical activity than he would usually agree to. "Look how nice this is," Ino set the comb aside and ran her fingers through his hair. "You look so good with it down. Why don't you ever wear it this way?"

"Too troublesome." Shikamaru told her.

"I suppose it would be rough," her hands were both in his hair now, massaging his scalp. "I mean, you'd have all these girls chasing you. That'd be a pain."

"Because you'd be jealous?" he asked, and she giggled as he leaned back against her.

"Of course not." She told him. "It's not like I'm your girlfriend. What's the point of me being jealous?"

"Oh…yeah." His hands had found her legs somehow, and he let his fingers trail over the smooth skin, delighting in the shudder she let out as his hand moved higher. "During finals…why did you…I mean, we had sex." He couldn't believe he'd actually said the words, though it probably helped that he wasn't looking at her. "Just…out of nowhere."

"It was good, right?" she asked, and he felt her hands snake down to his chest. "Wanna do it again?"

"You…you want to?" he asked, completely shocked.

"Why not?" she moved around, and was suddenly in his lap, straddling him and smiling cheekily. "I mean, if you're tired…"

"I'm fine," he shook his head. "But, I mean, during finals was one thing…but now—"

"You don't want to anymore?" she asked, grinding against him so that he grabbed her hips as though his life depended on it. "It _seems _like you want to."

"Yeah, but…I mean, I already told you I can't have a girlfriend." Shikamaru was trying very hard not to groan or to move against her. He was failing.

"I'm not asking to be your girlfriend." She pointed out. "We had sex all those other times, and I wasn't your girlfriend then. I'm just asking if you want to do it again. It wouldn't _change_ anything. But if you don't _want _to, I mean, I can just—"

Shikamaru kissed her, deciding that as long as Ino wanted to extend her generous offer, that was fine with him. Besides, he was already hard, and he wanted her, so in her own words, _why not_? He shifted slightly, stood up with her legs wrapped around him, and turned around while she covered his neck with kisses. Grunting, he hefted her onto the bed before pulling off the rest of his clothes while she did the same in a hurry.

He hadn't realized how much he'd missed this until he had her beneath him, moving inside of her as she clawed at him, begging for more, her eyes half-closed, her lips swollen, her hair spread below her in a platinum sheet. And when it was over, she cried out his name, and he collapsed onto her, rolling off so that he didn't' crush her. She turned over to him, and he embraced her, looking down to see her expression, happy and contented and completely without guile.

She was beautiful.

"If it's okay with you…maybe I can stay here until Tenten gets back." Shikamaru suggested later as she trailed lazy patterns over his bare chest with her fingernails. "Just…you know, to stay out of Naruto and Sasuke's way."

"Sounds good to me." Ino nodded. "You hungry?"

"Yeah. We should go get something before everywhere is closed." He yawned, rubbing a small circle on her back.

"We could just order in." she pointed out. "Then you can stay in bed _and_ eat."

"I think I lov—" Shikamaru blinked as he realized what he'd almost said. "Um…good idea."

"What do you feel like?" she moved, and he frowned at the odd feeling as she left the bed. It felt like loss…but why? She wasn't going anywhere. There, she was coming back, still naked, completely comfortable in her skin as she handed him a few menus to peruse, smiling brightly at him and pointing to items she enjoyed.

_I almost said that I loved her…but…it was just a joke. She's laughing now, she didn't even notice. Because we're just friends. Friends that have sex and live together and have dinner together._

Shikamaru thought there was something a little off with this logic, but he was naked and hungry, and he would rather just pay attention to naked Ino, who was offering him food. He wasn't going to just ignore her.

He was just thinking too hard. He should enjoy this.

--

To be continued…


	19. Chapter 19

Everything in Between

Everything in Between

Chapter 19

--

"Checkmate." Shikamaru smiled broadly and Ino shrugged, standing up and grabbing her purse.

"Okay, so now we can go, right?" she asked, and Shikamaru frowned at her.

"I just won." He pointed out.

"Yes, I'm completely devastated." She nodded, pursing her lips. "So, now let's go to the movie. I'll try to hold back my tears."

"Were you even trying?" he narrowed his eyes at her.

"Yeah, look, I captured your slanty guy and like three of the little pointy ones." She indicated the pieces she had won during the game.

"I thought you _hated_ to lose." Shikamaru reminded her. "And I've told you, that one's a bishop, and the small ones are pawns."

"Eh," she shrugged. "But you're just so cute when you win. You're all…checkmate!" she furrowed her brow and motioned placing a piece on a board with finality. "And you said after one game, we could go see the movie."

"You have to really try!" Shikamaru scowled, feeling very insulted that someone who didn't even know what a pawn was called could last more than three moves against him when they weren't even _trying_ to win. "Okay, new deal. If you beat me, I'll pay for the movie."

"And dinner?" she rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

"Sure, yes, if you can beat me, I'll pay for the movie and dinner, and I'll even drive." Shikamaru assured her, and she stared at him, her mouth ajar.

"You have a car?" she sounded mortally offended. "You've been mooching rides off of everyone all year _including_ me, and the whole time you had a car?"

"Driving is troublesome." He shrugged, and she sat down at the board with a huff, tossing her purse down and glaring at him.

"You're in for it now, mister." Ino cracked her knuckles and pursed her lips as Shikamaru set the board up. If she was trying, she would probably take longer turns, and it could be nearly an hour before the game ended. They wouldn't even be able to _see _whatever movie it was she wanted to go to after that.

But then, something extraordinary happened.

Ino killed him.

Well, she didn't physically murder him. However, she did completely and utterly defeat him in ten minutes. She didn't even _say_ checkmate! She just took her piece and made it sort of knock his king over.

"Crossy tall dude is dead." She picked up her purse. "Let's go."

"You…but you…" Shikamaru was utterly dumbfounded. He hadn't even _seen_ any sort of strategy building, he hadn't known that she was actually working toward any specific end until it was too late. Now…looking at the board, he felt an utter fool. How could he have missed the signs? How could she have beaten him? "How?"

"I killed him with my crown lady." Ino elaborated. "See, you're trapped cause I've got the horse over _here_, and then square-head is—"

"You don't even know what the pieces are called!" Shikamaru couldn't believe this. "How can you even move them properly? How could you…how could you beat me?"

"Well, I was being nice because it's like the only thing you care about." Ino rolled her eyes. "But if you're going to be such a baby every time you lose, maybe I just won't even play with you ever again."

"We have to play again. That had to be a fluke." Shikamaru began setting up the board again.

"God!" Ino threw up her hands. "This is why I let you win! See? Look how upset you are! And if we don't leave now, we'll miss the movie."

"But…you beat me." Shikamaru couldn't believe it. "I haven't lost at chess since I was six."

"Ooh, really?" Ino looked impressed. "Wow, you should play professionally! I hear that you can win a lot of money doing that."

"How am I supposed to do that if I can't even beat my girlfriend who calls the king _crossy tall dude_!" Shikamaru was cut short in his rage as he saw the look of utter shock on Ino's face. He then realized what he had said and shook his head furiously. "I mean…if I can't…beat my friend…who's a girl…and who doesn't know…"

"Do we need to talk?" Ino asked, her tone softer than it had been since the first chess game. She sat down again, not so worried about the movie or his upset over the chess game anymore.

"I…no." Shikamaru scowled at the chess board, sure that it had plotted this somehow. Betrayed by one of his oldest friends. It was shameful. "I didn't mean it that way."

"So you don't want a girlfriend still." She confirmed, nodding sharply. "That's fine. Are we still going to the movie, then?"

"Fine, fine." Shikamaru grumbled. "But we're having a rematch later."

"Ugh, can't we just have sex when we get back like _normal_ not-dating people?" she asked.

"You shut up." Shikamaru told her. "I can't believe I have to drive."

"I know, it's probably the worst night of your life." Ino surmised. "But if it makes you feel better, you actually could have beaten me just now if you hadn't been totally distracted by my cleavage."

"I don't know if that makes me feel better." Shikamaru sighed softly. "But thanks…that was nice."

"No problem!" she kissed his cheek and he let his arm wrap around her waist as they left the house, walking toward his car.

--

That night, Ino stayed awake after Shikamaru was fast asleep next to her, brushing his hair out of his face and considering her situation. At first, she had just thought she could get Shikamaru to date her without calling it dating, and while she had been right…she was beginning to feel more strongly for him than she had imagined possible. She wasn't sure how she felt about play-acting like this with him anymore. But it wasn't really as if she was _tricking _him, she was just doing with him everything that a girlfriend would do and not calling it that. In fact, _he _had accidentally called it that, but he refused to admit that what they were doing would be called a relationship by most people.

There was a lot more to him than she had first thought when she met him, and now, it was very hard to imagine life without him. She felt like everything about him that had once bothered her now…well, they were part of him, so it was just endearing. When he would fake falling asleep to get out of something, or when he'd pretend not to care while asking his friends about their lives, like by having an aloof attitude, they wouldn't worry that he was too close to them, or something. It was no wonder Sasuke got along with him so well.

_I think I love him…but he doesn't even want to have me be his official girlfriend. I'm like his secret fuck._

It was hard to tell just how much he cared about her, and it could be a little frustrating, a little disheartening. Ino seemed destined to chase after emotionally unavailable men. Although, at least Shikamaru was straight.

She wondered what would happen when Tenten returned and he left her room. Even if any of their other friends came back…she knew he wasn't worried about Sasuke and Naruto seeing them together, which was why he'd kiss her and hold her in public, even walking while holding hands. Those two were so wrapped up in each other, so deeply entrenched in their relationship…

_Why am I crying? I don't still want to be with Sasuke, do I?_

She knew she didn't, but as she wiped away the tears, she started to see what was bothering her. If Naruto could inspire so much passion in Sasuke, if Gaara and Neji could fall so completely in love, if Sai would come right out and put himself on the line to be with Sakura when he seemed so aloof…and if Tenten could make Shino want only to be with her…why couldn't she make Shikamaru care about her that way? He wasn't nearly as emotionally distant as many of those examples, but for some reason…maybe it was her own fault. Maybe he didn't trust her to care about him, since he'd seen her plotting so often before. He had said he wanted to see her face when she was just Ino…and she had shown him so many faces, free from lies, but he still saw her only as a friend.

_I guess I should just enjoy these days before it goes back to normal. Once everyone starts coming back in a few days, he'll only sneak into the room for sex, and even then…probably not that often, now that he's gotten it out of his system. He won't want to talk, or to go anywhere, or do anything together._

_I think he thinks if no one else sees him having a relationship, it doesn't really exist._

She couldn't stop crying for some reason, so she turned away from him and let herself go, sobbing quietly, hoping not to disturb him.

_This face…the face of hopelessness, of heartbreak…I don't know if I'm ready to show him this face._

_I don't think it's a face he wants to admit to._

"Hey," she froze at his sleepy voice, and attempted to scrub the moisture from her face. She wished she had turned the lights out, but she liked to look at him, just to see him with her…it helped dull the ache. "What's wrong?" the concern in his tone broke through her swiftly constructed defenses, and she could feel the tears flowing once more. "Ino, are you…crying?"

"No." she lied, and he grabbed her shoulder, trying to get her to face him as she curled up in a ball and clutched the sheets, trying to stay where she was.

"Why won't you look at me?" he asked, and she sniffled slightly.

"I'm tired, go to sleep." She attempted, but he wasn't falling for that. He managed to wrestle her onto her back, and she went limp, deciding it was really too late to continue to try and hide her blotchy, tear-streaked face from him now.

"You _are_ crying," he sighed heavily, brushing the tears from one cheek, then the other with his thumb, and she tried to repress another sob, failing miserably. "Are you hurt or something?" he seemed alarmed and concerned, and she guessed that he probably hadn't seen a lot of girls crying in his life. His mother sounded like a rather strong woman, and he had no sisters. He had already told her he had dated, but not seriously in high school. Probably the crying part was the part where he broke up with all his other girlfriends.

_He's probably thinking how troublesome I'm being right now. I bet he wants to leave._

"Just never mind. I was thinking about something sad, okay?" she sniffled again and forced a smile. "I'm fine now, just let's go to sleep, okay. Or maybe now that you're awake you want to—"

"Ino, no." Shikamaru batted her hand away from him, and she blinked at him in shock.

_He really is going to leave me. Right now. If I'd known…I would have paid for him tonight…maybe told him how I feel. Not that it would have helped._

"I was just fooling around, come on." She tried to laugh, but it sounded like a sob, and she could feel more tears squeezing out of her eyes. "I was just…practicing my fake crying. You know how I like to play tricks on people."

"Why are you lying to me?" he sounded as though she had wounded him, and Ino was brought up short. How could she lie to him? She should have never…not to Shikamaru.

"I'm sorry," she sighed, and took a deep breath. "I just…it makes me sad to think that Tenten could be coming home any day now, and this thing between us…it will just go back to how it was. I like spending time with you, I like sleeping next to you, and going places with you, or just staying in. I want to be with you, but when she comes back…"

"Well…" Shikamaru considered it, "we can still spend time together when she gets back. We're friends. Friends hang out together all the time. And maybe…when Naruto and Sasuke are in there, instead of sleeping in Naruto's bed I can sleep in here, if you want."

"Don't you think that will seem a little weird?" she asked, sniffling slightly. "I mean, tell me honestly what you think everyone will assume if they see that you're sleeping with me, and we're always hanging out, and it won't be long before it gets out that we're having sex, I mean, I know people have already seen you leave here before break, so what do you think they thought we were doing?"

"Well, if we're just quiet and we don't like, kiss or touch in public—" Shikamaru suggested.

"No! Don't you see, that's why I'm upset!" she exclaimed, cutting him off. "I want to be with you! I don't mean like I want to just sometimes be allowed near you. I mean I want to be your girlfriend, but that's hopeless, isn't it? You said you don't want a girlfriend, you said you don't have time, but I've got a news flash for you, genius! What do you call a girl who you sleep with, whose bed you share, who you go out with and have dinner with, who you go to the movies and go shopping with, who you hold hands with, and kiss and want to hold even in public—but only if none of your friends can see! What do you think you would call that sort of girl?"

"Ino…" he scowled, moving off of her. "You're being troublesome."

"Fine! Good, I don't care!" she sat up, throwing up her hands. "Because it doesn't matter what I say, does it? You've been dating me this whole time, but you won't admit it. And you _know _it's true! That's why you want to sneak around when our friends are here because I _am_ your girlfriend! But you already _said_ you didn't want one of those! You already told Temari that when she wanted to date you, so how can you go back on your word now?" she deflated then, sighing heavily and shaking her head. "The truth is…I knew that if I just didn't call it that, then maybe we could actually date. But the problem with that is…I don't want to have to sneak around. I don't want to be your secret fuck-buddy. I want to be your girlfriend, because I _love_ you."

"Ino…" his tone was different now, completely amazed at the revelation, and he turned to her, but she pushed him away.

"Just leave, okay?" she told him, her eyes downcast. "I know you'll never feel the same. All around me, I see people in relationships, people that I thought were a lot more stubborn than you, and I guess…I didn't think it would bother me so much. But it's hard enough loving someone who won't love you back. But if you won't even date me…if you just want to use me…"

"I don't want to _use_ you," Shikamaru insisted. "I don't…I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

"Don't ask me." Ino shook her head in irritation. "Just…just go sleep in your own bed for once, okay?"

"But…" Shikamaru trailed off, and he could see Ino was crying again, but she wasn't looking at him, not wanting him to see how upset she was. She really meant it, didn't she? Ino, who was so hard to trust was now completely stripped of her masks, and he had done it, without meaning to. He had laid her bare and hurt her like this, left her wanting more than he would give her.

_But I could…I could give it to her. I've been dating her this whole time, haven't I? And it's not really as stressful as I thought it would be. It's so…being with her…seeing her smile at me, seeing her look at me the way that she does…knowing she loves me…all of that makes me happy. What's wrong with making her happy, too?_

"Ino, I'm sorry." He sighed heavily. "I shouldn't have made things seem like that. I _do_ care about you, and if you want to date, then I think that we should. I know I said that I couldn't, but it seems that I can, after all, and I think it would really be more troublesome to have to stay away from you, or to sneak around then to just do what we feel like, and be happy together."

"You're just saying that because you don't want to go back to sexile room." Ino accused, but she was smiling softly, and when he turned to her this time, she didn't pull away, but let him kiss her face, catching her tears with his lips.

"I guess you win." He told her, smiling so she could see he was joking. "I think that if I had tried to stay away from you…I would have been miserable. I need you, now, and I can't just let you go because I don't want to admit I was wrong."

"Now do we have sex?" she asked, giggling, and he laughed as well, kissing her warmly, enjoying the feel of her skin, the scent of her hair, the taste of her lips.

"I think that's probably a good idea." He agreed.

--

"Oh, hey guys." Tenten walked into her room, tossing down her keys and strolling over to her bed to set down her bag. "I'm back." Shikamaru and Ino were in the other bed in the room, and were both looking at her in mortification, Ino clutching a sheet over them both, but it was obvious that if the sheet were dropped, Tenten would have a pretty clear view of them both naked.

"Tenten!" Ino hissed. "Close the door!"

"What? You can't even see the bed from there." Tenten was setting down another bag and taking her coat off. "Give me one second, I just need to drop this off and I'll leave you to your…activities."

"Don't you even _care_ about what's going on here?" Ino pursed her lips and arched her eyebrows, annoyed at Tenten's carefree attitude in this situation.

"What?" Tenten glanced at her before turning back to her end table, grabbing a brush to run through her hair, which she'd been wearing down ever since she realized Shino preferred it that way. "Did you cut your hair?"

"No!" Ino snarled. "I'm in bed with Shikamaru."

"Yeah." Tenten nodded, turning and setting the brush down, rubbing her cold cheeks to try and bring the color back to them. "So?"

"We're having sex!" Ino hissed, and Tenten applied some lip gloss, nodding at her.

"I figured." Tenten nodded. "If you're out, I think I have more condoms in my sock drawer."

"Aren't you _surprised_?" Ino was quite offended. Shikamaru was simply resigned to not actually getting sex right now, and was mostly trying to make sure that no one could see him if they walked by the wide open door at that moment, and that Tenten wasn't actually able to see anything more than the upper portion of his chest.

"You guys were already together before, weren't you?" Tenten asked. "Oh! Is it not a secret anymore?"

"How did you know?" Shikamaru was surprised, despite himself.

"Well, it was clear Ino was getting some when she stopped being Queen Grumpy-Pants." Tenten explained, shrugging. "And you guys weren't _that_ discrete. I mean, seriously, Sakura saw you stumble out of here looking like you'd gotten _thoroughly_ laid, and then Ino's looking all pleased with herself in the door, wearing only a robe? Hmm, what could be going on? It's a mystery!"

"I looked…" Shikamaru couldn't even bring himself to repeat the phrase, and the disconsolate Ino made his life a little easier by rolling off of him to pout more effectively.

"She didn't use those words. She said you looked like you'd been through a sex hurricane." Tenten nodded sharply as she recalled the wording properly.

"Sex hurricane, huh?" Ino frowned in consideration, rubbing her chin and finding she didn't feel quite so annoyed anymore.

"Temari doesn't know." Tenten tapped her lips as though just now remembering. "Kankurou and her had split by the time you stumbled out of here where everyone could see, and Kiba's been way too preoccupied with Hinata to possibly spread the word, so you might be safe…for like two days."

"Hinata…wait, are they dating now?" Ino stood, pulling the sheet with her to Shikamaru's immediate dismay. He scrambled to pull the discarded comforter over himself while glaring at Ino. Tenten giggled and tried to pretend she hadn't seen anything. "Oh my god, I've completely fallen down on the job! How did I not know this? When did they get together?"

"Um…Thursday of finals week, most everyone was done…remember, the night Naruto and Sasuke took off." Tenten recalled. "Neji was really upset, and he almost _didn't_ leave with Gaara cause he wanted to either tell off Hinata or beat up Kiba or both…I don't know. Sakura told me all about it."

"Sakura…knows more gossip than me?" Ino felt like she had been utterly humiliated. "How can she?"

"Well, it's just a matter of—"

"Hey guys—whoa!" Kiba, had popped in, seeing their door open, but he was torn between trying to see Ino in only a sheet and trying _not_ to see Shikamaru covered only by a blanket. "Um…they have doors for that sort of thing. You close them. I recommend the locking method."

"Shut up." Ino rolled her eyes at him. "I can't _believe_ you started dating Hinata and I'm the _last_ to know! What the hell, Kiba? I thought we were friends!"

"Can you guys just close the door?" Shikamaru attempted, but no one was paying attention to him now.

"Oh man, hey Kibaaahahaaaa!" Kankurou stopped by to talk to his friend on the way to his room, but dropped his bags right to the ground when he saw Ino in a sheet. "Like the look, Ino, what's the…oh man!" Kankurou had spotted Shikamaru, and was off like a shot down the hall.

"Okay, maybe a couple days wasn't a very good guess." Tenten pursed her lips. "I think I better leave now." She fled the scene, and Shikamaru realized what was going to happen.

"Kiba, get out! Ino, lock the door!" he ordered, but they both looked at him like he was out of his mind. "Come on, I want to get dressed!"

"Oh, whatever, I'm sure Kiba's not going to check you out. You've changed in front of him before, right? And it's nothing I haven't seen." Ino rolled her eyes. "We're dating for real now." She told Kiba proudly as Shikamaru wondered why he was so completely incapable of making anyone listen to him.

"Don't you understand anything?" Shikamaru grumbled, attempting to pick up clothes while covering himself up still. "Kankurou's going to tell Temari and she'll be pissed!"

"Oh man, you are way too full of yourself." Kiba chuckled, shaking his head. "Honestly, no one's going to fight over you."

"What sort of fight would it be?" Ino laughed. "He's dating me, not her, and he never was."

"You!" Shikamaru actually had the urge to hide under the bed at the enraged sound of Temari's voice as she pushed past a surprised Kiba, Kankurou behind her, laughing and rubbing his hands as though his daily goal of making Temari kick the crap out of someone that was not him was about to be completed. "You slut!" it took him a moment to realize that Temari was after Ino, and not him, which really didn't make any sense to him. After all, Ino had nothing to do with anything that had transpired between Temari and himself.

"What?" Ino scoffed, managing to seem as though she was wearing something much nicer than a sheet as she shook her head at Temari. "Please, don't make a fool of yourself. Just go. He never wanted to date you, get over it."

"Oh, that's it." Temari snarled and flew at Ino, who went on guard at once, dropping her sheet to the utter amazement of the spectators as she wrestled with the other girl, trying to keep her hands from clawing at her face or punching her, or really doing anything that would hurt or leave a mark. She kneed Temari, and tried to block a headbutt with little success. The next minute, they were on the ground, trying to hit each other, or possibly rip each other's eyes out, it was hard to tell.

"This…is the coolest thing I've _ever_ seen." Kiba stared at the fight in awe.

"Whoa…go Shikamaru." Kankurou had never thought he would have the chance to see Ino naked, and now that he had, he was very glad he had immediately told on Shikamaru upon seeing the evidence of his current relations.

"Oh, everyone is back!" Hinata approached. "What is going…oh no." she immediately reached up to cover Kiba's eyes. "You should not watch that."

"Dammit! Stop it!" Shikamaru was forced to step in, though at least he'd gotten his underwear on.

"You're ruining my view!" Kankurou wailed as Hinata pulled Kiba away.

"She's your sister! Help me!" Shikamaru growled, and Kankurou figured this would be his best chance to grab Ino without getting severely injured, so he helped pull the pair apart. Unfortunately, Shikamaru was holding Ino, and he was stuck with his sister. Lame. "You two…what the hell? You're both smart! Stop acting like your brother!" he chided Temari. "And you…get dressed! Everyone can _see_!"

"She started it." Ino grumped, pulling on a robe under his watchful eye, as he did not want the fight to just continue.

"You knew! You knew about him and I, and you just snuck in there, like the dirty snake you are, and just…" Temari turned to Shikamaru, appealing to him instead of calling Ino names. "Can't you see? This is like every other one of her plots. This'll just turn into some way for her to get you to try and split up Sasuke and Naruto because she's completely deluded herself into thinking he could _ever_ like her!"

"You don't know anything about me! Don't try to say how I feel!" Ino hissed in annoyance.

"Or are you pissed at me for some reason? So annoyed you thought you'd make him your little silver medal?" Temari challenged, and Ino shot past Shikamaru, who was too shocked by Temari's words to even stop her, punching Temari in the face.

"Hey!" Kankurou was now forced to stop his sister from retaliating. "Stop! That was only cool when you were naked."

"You are such a pig." Ino shook her head at him. "Take her out of here _now_. Next time, I won't stop." She held her fist up to show she meant business.

"Bring it on!" Temari attempted to break free again and Kankurou had to pull her out of the room while Ino glared after her.

"I can't believe her!" Ino fumed once Temari was gone. "Like I would ever…saying I would use you like that?"

"You…you aren't, are you?" Shikamaru was suddenly concerned that he had been outmaneuvered by her, just like their chess game, and that without even seeing it coming, he had fallen into a trap she had lain. "You're really over Sasuke, right?"

"You…" Ino looked completely shocked at his question. She pursed her lips, clenching her fists as she struggled to master herself. "You…get out."

"Ino, I just meant—"

"I don't _care!_" She stomped in anger. "You really think this was all some act? That's fine. Get the fuck out. Show's over."

Shikamaru left, feeling too numb to even think the situation through, only knowing that he had said the wrong thing, and that he was in serious danger of messing up everything he'd been building up with Ino since…since they met.

_Because I can't stop myself. I just want to be near her, like some crazy force is pulling me toward her, no matter how hopeless it seems, no matter how obvious it is that she couldn't possibly want me…couldn't really care about someone like me. She's so…everything about her makes me feel like I could just be with her forever and not ever need…_

_Oh fuck._

_I love her._

In hindsight, Shikamaru really wished he'd at least put some clothes on before leaving the room, but at the moment, all he cared about was how he could hope to fix the mess he'd made.

--

To be continued…


	20. Chapter 20

Everything in Between

Everything in Between

Chapter 20

--

"Man, you're so grumpy." Chouji frowned when Shikamaru refused the offer of some cookies his mother had sent. "You should be in a good mood. Kiba told me you're dating Ino now."

"Yeah, well," Shikamaru sighed and fell back on Naruto's bed, which he now usually just thought of as his own bed. "I _was_."

"Trouble already?" Kiba helped himself to a cookie and offered one to Hinata as well, who blushed and accepted. "You've been dating like a day."

"Six days, actually." Shikamaru sighed. "My longest ever relationship."

"Is that true?" Hinata blinked in surprise and Chouji shrugged.

"He's never been unpopular, exactly." Chouji answered. "But it takes a strong woman to get Shikamaru to agree to actually date her."

"How many other girlfriends have you had?" Kiba asked, curious, and Shikamaru held up two fingers. "How long did those last?"

"One of them lasted an hour and a half." Chouji told them.

"She tricked me." Shikamaru frowned. "The other one was two days."

"Two days?" Hinata frowned. "You sound like Neji. Except that you like girls."

"She was troublesome." Shikamaru grumbled. "Started wanting me to do all kinds of things?"

"Like go on dates and stay awake for them." Chouji nodded in mock sympathy. "It was out of hand."

"What was it like dating Ino?" Kiba asked. "I can't imagine she would be happy never going out, just watching you sleep all day or playing chess with you, never talking except when you wanted her to."

"No." Shikamaru shook his head, plucking at a loose stitch on the comforter. "No, Ino would never stand for that."

"Why'd you stay with her?" Chouji asked. "If you thought it was so much trouble before."

"I don't know," Shikamaru admitted, rolling to his side, feeling more sluggish than he had in days, but unable to find the peacefulness he needed to fall asleep. Maybe if he could sleep, he'd wake up next to her. "It wasn't the same. She could be demanding, but for some reason…I wanted her to be happy. I wanted to do what she wanted. It didn't seem troublesome at all."

"Then why'd you break up?" Kiba asked, curious.

"I said something without thinking." Shikamaru didn't want to elaborate. "So she told me to go away."

"But that does not mean you can't go back and apologize." Hinata implored. "You should not give up on it so quickly! Do you not still want to be with her? Tell her how you feel, and tell her you are sorry. She will forgive you. We all make mistakes, and no relationship can be perfect."

"Yeah, man," Kiba nodded and laced his fingers through Hinata's, smiling at her dopily. "If you really care about someone like that, you can't give up. You have to keep at it until she's with you, and then make sure you treat her the way she deserves, so that way…you stay together." He leaned over, kissing Hinata while she blushed, Chouji snickered, and Shikamaru groaned.

"Don't be happy in front of me." Shikamaru grumbled. "If I wanted to see people happy and in love, I'd go back to my actual room."

"I'm sorry," Hinata flushed deeper, lowering her head slightly. "We do not mean to make light of your pain. I am sure that everything will work out if you just talk to her."

"There you are." The door slammed open, and Neji stood at the threshold looking like an avenging angel sent from the heavens, his face full of righteous fury. "You! Get your hands off of her!" he pointed his finger at Kiba, who was so surprised he actually did pull away from Hinata. "Hinata, come with me. This is no fit place for you."

"Hey!" Chouji clearly took offense at this. "Our room isn't messy or anything."

"Compared to a landfill, I'm sure." Neji sneered. "Hinata, come with me now."

"No." she told him, her lip quivering slightly as she attempted to scowl at him, but ended up looking more confused than anything. "I will not leave my friends because you do not like their room, nor will I leave my boyfriend."

"He is not your boyfriend." Neji told her in a flat tone. "Be serious, Hinata. Do you truly believe your father would approve of this unwashed miscreant? He is a nobody with no prospects and absolutely no right to be anywhere near you. I have tolerated your…colorful choices in companionship as long as it was nothing serious, but before we left, your father asked me to watch over you and protect you from bad influences and the poor choices that can be made when one is in the world on their own. I am fulfilling that obligation to him now."

"Neji, I am an adult, and while I appreciate your concern for me, your worries are unfounded." Hinata told him, her voice soft, but clearly determined. "What my father thinks of Kiba is between my father, myself, and Kiba. It has nothing to do with you, and whether or not he approves, I will continue to date Kiba. He is a good man, and he treats me well. He cares for me, and I care for him. That should be all that matters to you, cousin."

"Hinata!" Neji was flabbergasted by this, and didn't quite know what to say to Hinata's defiant attitude.

"Neji, I have only ever supported you and Gaara." Her tone was softer this time. "I would expect the same consideration from you."

"Gaara's…better!" Neji huffed and whirled on his heel, leaving the room again, slamming the door shut behind him.

"Oh dear," Hinata sighed. "I am sorry, Kiba. He can be a bit overprotective of me. He did not mean any of those things, I am sure. I know that he knows you are a good person, but sometimes he can be unreasonable."

"Honestly, I don't think I really deserve you, either." Kiba told her, flushed with pleasure at her defiant defense of their relationship. "I'm just glad you'll have me."

"Kiba, I meant what I said." Hinata assured him, her hand on the side of his face, her eyes warm. "I do care for you, a great deal, and I do not regret my decision to be with you, despite whatever Neji or my father may say."

"What did I say about happy people in love?" Shikamaru covered his head with his pillow, trying to block it out.

"If you're jealous, just go get her back." Chouji laughed, one cookie in each hand. "Seriously, I know you're lazy, but you can't just lay there and hope she'll come to you."

"Yeah, you have to be a man." Kiba told him. "Plus, this isn't even your room, so quit telling me what to do."

"Then get your stupid roommate out of _my_ room, and we'll trade back." Shikamaru answered. "As a bonus, you can have Sasuke, too. Get ready to see them both naked, they can't keep their hands off each other for five minutes."

"Don't be such a grump, you're doing this to yourself." Kiba grumbled. "You're the lazy ass who won't just go apologize."

"Screw you, enjoy your stupid happy relationship with no problems at all." Shikamaru replied.

"Hey! We've had problems too!" Kiba retorted. "It took forever to get Hinata to notice me! And Neji wants us to break up, and apparently her dad is going to hate me!"

"Whatever." Shikamaru left the room, unable to deal with Hinata and Kiba anymore. Of course, having just started dating, they were happy and content with everything about each other. They didn't understand that later on, things could get rocky.

_Not that I ever really got to the later on stage with Ino. I fucked it up right in the beginning._

He paused in the hallway, wondering where he should go, stopping himself from the temptation of Ino's door. He didn't want to go anywhere if he was going to have to deal with more happy couples. Which ruled out almost every one of his friends' rooms.

_It's like some crazy mating season or something. The only room where no one's in a relationship…is Temari's._

He wasn't about to go to be castrated, and since there really seemed no bastion from happy couples. What he really wanted was either somewhere no one was in a relationship, or at least where the only person who was in one was having a horrible fight with their partner. Unfortunately, Ino and him seemed to be the only ones having problems that he knew of. That meant he was just going to have to create his own sanctuary.

--

"I love you," Sasuke sighed as Naruto snuggled up against him, their breath still short from their recent love-making. "So much."

"I love you too," Naruto sighed happily and yawned, pressing lazy kisses to Sasuke's throat. "It'll be too bad when classes start and we have to actually get out of bed."

"You got out of bed today." Sasuke reminded him. "You took a shower, remember?"

"You were there, of course I remember." Naruto flushed, but his skin was still red from the heat of his orgasm, and it was hard to notice much difference.

"Well," Sasuke sighed as though this situation had been completely out of his control. "I needed a shower, as well. It only made sense."

"You just like being naked with me." Naruto accused. "If I went to my classes naked, you'd follow me there, too."

"Naruto, you shouldn't joke about that." Sasuke chided. "It's January. Going to class naked is a horrible idea. You could get sick. It might be okay in June, but now is not the time for that sort of thing."

"I was just pointing out—" Naruto's explanation was cut off by a searing kiss from his lover, and he noticed that look was back in Sasuke's eyes. It was a look of possessive desire, a look that he had seen first after the incident with Itachi, as if before, the thought of Naruto leaving him had never occurred to Sasuke. Since then, it came less frequently, and seemingly without any specific trigger, but when it did come, Naruto knew that he could expect a sudden surge of passion and need to accompany it. He had no problem with Sasuke kissing him so thoroughly he almost forgot how to breathe, or embracing him tightly and whispering fierce words of love, so he had come to almost want to see the look in Sasuke's eyes. It always led to something good, and this was no exception.

Even though he'd finished only a few minutes ago, the way Sasuke was kissing him and the feel of his hands on Naruto's still-cooling skin made him feel a stirring. He doubted that he could possibly be ready again _this_ soon, but if Sasuke kept up the kisses and caresses and those soft moans he probably had no idea he even made, Naruto knew that it wouldn't be too long before he had to pin Sasuke down and plunge into him. His heart was speeding up in anticipation of being with his lover when he was in such a mood. Whenever it came over him during sex, it was always especially memorable.

"Okay, get dressed and get the hell out." Shikamaru's aloof voice put a sudden halt to their activities, and Sasuke swept a sheet up and over them, though the jealous look on his face made it clear that he was more concerned with letting anyone see Naruto naked than himself.

"What are you doing in here?" Sasuke grumbled, annoyed that he'd managed to get Naruto half hard after they had only had sex ten or twenty minutes ago, and now he was being interrupted. Plus, he really didn't like the idea of anyone but him seeing Naruto naked. He knew that it was probably related to his guilt over Itachi, and it was also rather silly of him to worry about his straight roommate being turned on by Naruto, but he didn't really care.

"It's my room." Shikamaru told him in a flat tone, flopping down on his own bed for the first time in months. "You probably forgot, and I've let you guys use it as your stupid love-den, but you owe me like two months of alone time, and I'm cashing in. Now get out."

"You get out!" Sasuke scowled. "We don't care if you're in here. You're the one who doesn't want to see what we do."

"Um, Sasuke, I don't really want him to see—"

"You don't care? Fine, I don't care either. Go ahead, give it to him good. I've got headphones." Shikamaru pulled out his iPod and turned it on, staring at the ceiling.

"Sasuke, I can't…not while he's in here…" Naruto sounded terrified that Sasuke would actually do as he had threatened, but Sasuke looked at him in amazement.

"Like I want anyone to see you…not like this." Sasuke breathed, his eyes full of an intensity that made Naruto shudder with anticipation despite Shikamaru's continued cohabitation of the room. "I don't want anyone to have this part of you. You're mine." He assured his lover, giving him a quick kiss before climbing out of the bed in such a way that Naruto remained completely covered the whole time, gathering up clothes and glaring at Shikamaru. He didn't know why his roommate was suddenly taking issue with his monopolization of the room, but he would _pay_ for this. Sasuke hadn't expected him to call his bluff, but no matter. There were other places he could be alone with his lover. "Hey!" he yelped when he saw that Naruto had climbed out of bed as well and was getting dressed without any seeming concern about whether or not Shikamaru would glance over and see any part of him. "He could see you!" he hissed, indicating his roommate, who had just let out a wistful sigh.

"So? Shikamaru's not going to get excited, trust me. He's straight, remember?" Naruto frowned at his lover, who was now rushing to help him dress. "Okay, I'm an adult, I can put my own shirt on, thanks."

"Come on." Sasuke was seething, and Naruto wasn't sure he understood, but he saw that possessive look in his eyes, and he knew that this time, the reason had been that he didn't want anyone—whether or not they might be interested in seeing it—to see his body. Naruto knew he should be more annoyed, but coming from Sasuke…it just made him feel warm…protected, somehow. They went down the hall, and Sasuke pulled him into his own room, where he usually only went to get a change of clothes or some book he hadn't used in a while. Most of his school things stayed in Sasuke's room, as did he.

"Whoa, they came out of their sex-cave." Kiba looked surprised to see not only Naruto, but Sasuke in his room. "Finally worn out?"

"Kiba! That was rude." Hinata frowned at him, and he mumbled something that might have been an apology under his breath while lowering his eyes and flushing. "I am happy to see you both! It has been too long."

"Hinata! Are you guys…" Naruto trailed off, eyeing the pair sitting next to each other on Kiba's bed, eating cookies and looking content.

"Yeah, we're dating." Kiba regained his composure at once. "Since the end of finals. It rules."

"I am very happy. Kiba is very good to me." Hinata blushed, recalling that Naruto had been the first to tell her that his roommate had a crush on her.

"Man, that's so cool." Naruto seemed pleased to have a chance to socialize, and Sasuke realized that he had made a mistake. After keeping him locked away so long, of course Naruto would be excited to see his friends again. It seemed he would have to wait for some time before he could get Naruto alone again.

"Neji didn't think so." Chouji seemed very pleased to see his roommate again. "Want some cookies?"

"Cookies!" Naruto grabbed one for himself and Sasuke, sitting down on his own bed and patting it so that his lover would join him. Sasuke glared at the cookie as though all of this were _its_ fault and sat down, contenting himself with lacing his fingers through Naruto's. "What happened with Neji? You guys have to tell me everything, I've fallen totally out of touch."

"Well, wedded bliss can do that to you." Kiba teased, and Naruto blushed a brilliant shade of red. Sasuke decided he liked Kiba. "Is the honeymoon over yet?"

"Kibaaaaa!" Naruto shook his head in embarrassment. "Stop changing the subject. What's the deal with Neji?"

"He does not approve of my choice." Hinata answered. "I explained things to him."

"Yeah, she totally shut him down!" Kiba was clearly very proud of his girlfriend. "He's all, 'I hate everyone, you can't date him.' And she's all, 'whatever, go make out with your boyfriend and leave me alone.'"

"Go Hinata!" Naruto was clearly impressed.

"It wasn't quite like that." Hinata lowered her eyes, sighing softly. "I just want him to understand that I am an adult and he cannot control my choices, nor can my father."

"You'd think he'd be a little more understanding after the battle he had to get Temari to just let Gaara and him be together." Naruto shook his head.

"Sometimes we have a hard time seeing our own mistakes, even if we've seen others make them first." Sasuke pointed out quietly, and Naruto blinked at Sasuke, impressed with his boyfriend's incisive remark.

"What about Sai and Sakura, is everything going okay there?" Naruto asked after a pause. "They got together during our big coffee party thing, right?"

"They are happy." Hinata nodded, "As far as I know. Sai took her on a date to see the stars and have a picnic, she was telling me it was very romantic."

"I can be romantic." Kiba mumbled, and she patted his arm consoling before kissing his cheek, which seemed to make him feel better.

"I'm glad that's working out well." Naruto nodded, happy to see Sakura finally getting what she deserved, at least, as far as he saw it. She had been a very good friend to him, despite their rocky beginnings, and he wanted her to be happy. Just…not with Sasuke. "So, does anyone know why Shikamaru's in a really bad mood?"

"Oh." Hinata sighed sadly and fell silent, so Chouji took over.

"Ino and him started dating." Chouji began.

"I thought he didn't want a girlfriend?" Naruto narrowed his eyes, trying to remember for sure. He really was out of the loop lately. "Didn't he like…turn down Temari?"

"Yep." Kiba couldn't help joining in, remembering the epic fight he had borne witness to, at least until Hinata caught him. "So okay, you know how Shikamaru and Ino were like, secretly hooking up during finals?"

"They were?" Naruto was flabbergasted.

"Oh man, yeah they were! I thought everyone knew!" Kiba shook his head as though Naruto's ignorance on this subject was an atrocity. "Yeah, Sakura totally saw him all stumbling out of there, looking like he'd just done it like eight times in a row, and Ino's right in the doorway, wearing that one robe, you know, that you can pretty much see through, and she's _clearly_ been up to something, so pretty soon, we all figured out what was going on, but Temari'd already left, so nothing really happened."

"Oh…did she find out?" Naruto asked.

"I'm getting to it! You have to listen to the whole story!" Kiba snorted. "Okay, so then Shikamaru and Ino _mysteriously_ both come back from break really early, right? And since you guys were here, where do you think Shikamaru was staying? In Ino's room! And they were just totally going at it all the time and—"

"Kiba!" Hinata finally decided that Kiba was a bit too into the story and intervened. "Well, Naruto, what happened was that they started dating…six days ago, I believe. Then we all started returning, and Temari found out, and she got into a fight with Ino, and then apparently Shikamaru said something he shouldn't have, and now they are fighting, and he does not think they will be able to work it out, though I've told him if he just apologizes, he would be able to return to her, and everything would work out, I'm sure."

"But…but Naruto," Kiba was about to burst with excitement. "When they fought…okay, Ino was _totally_ naked. And I saw! It was freaking—" for the first time, he seemed to realize he was telling this story with his girlfriend sitting right beside him, and he cut himself off, coughing slightly. "It was…too bad."

"Whoa." Naruto really hadn't expected that. "Is everyone okay? I mean, physically. I'm sure all three of them are pretty pissed off."

"Yeah, the fight didn't last long, Kankurou and Shikamaru split it up." Chouji sighed, a little annoyed that _he_ had missed the fight. He never got to see anything exciting. At least he had his cookies.

"Well…no wonder Shikamaru wanted to be alone." Naruto frowned. "It's too bad…I actually think that Ino and him would really make a good couple…you know, because she could probably make him want to try a little, and he could maybe help her stop and smell the roses every once in a while."

"I hope they do get back together." Hinata bit her lip. "Though I feel so badly for Temari…I am not sure what would be best!"

"We should just let them deal with it themselves." Sasuke pointed out, and Naruto looked at him in disapproval, so he elaborated. "It's not our job to pick who Shikamaru should be with, if he decides to date anyone. That's not something other people can decide for you."

"Okay, please don't start making out." Chouji frowned when Naruto's look melted into one of adoration at Sasuke's words. "This room is off limits for sex."

"Chouji, since when do you make the rules?" Kiba frowned as Hinata went scarlet once more.

"Since both my roommates are dating, and I want to be able to live in my own room." Chouji grumbled slightly. "Honestly, Naruto, you're fun and everything, but don't you think everything would be easier for you two if you traded with Shikamaru."

"Like…I'm Sasuke's roommate?" he had to admit, the idea had merits, mostly that they would never have to worry about being interrupted again. And they would also never get kicked out of their room if it was just theirs! "Hey…what do you think, Sasuke?"

"That…is a good idea." Sasuke's voice trembled a little in anticipation of the idea, clearly processing some of the same ideas Naruto was realizing at the same time.

"Did you guys really never think of that?" Kiba laughed. "Honestly, Shikamaru mentioned that he wanted to do it ages ago, I couldn't figure out why you guys wouldn't."

"He might not want to now." Chouji pointed out. "He's probably enjoying exiling you guys because he's upset about Ino, and he doesn't like seeing Hinata and Kiba together. It makes him more depressed."

"Well…why doesn't he just get over it and talk to her already!" Naruto was nearly quivering with excitement. Moving in with Sasuke…it was a little scary, but it was so exciting to think they could do that, and honestly, they practically lived together now, anyway.

"They just had their fight today." Chouji explained. "Shikamaru's never even _cared_ about a girl this much before. We were talking about it earlier. This is his longest ever relationship. He doesn't know what to do, because he's so used to just ignoring girls when they require any effort from him, but now he actually _wants_ to go to her, and it's probably really freaking him out. He thinks his parents are weird, and I don't think he likes the idea of having a woman control him, so that's why I always figured he didn't ever get in a serious relationship, but I think he's starting to understand why his dad doesn't really mind, and he's probably about to have a panic attack or something. Like, his whole single life is flashing before his eyes, or something like that."

"So…he is afraid of commitment, you mean to say," Hinata clarified. "And he is thinking that he would like to commit to Ino, but is afraid of what that would mean?"

"Yep." Chouji chuckled. "He's funny like that."

"Ugh! Well, he needs to move on! I want my room!" Naruto stormed out of the room, and Sasuke blinked a moment before going after him.

--

To be continued…


	21. Chapter 21

Everything in Between

Everything in Between

Chapter 21

--

Shikamaru had locked his room, and since Sasuke's keys were inside the room, they had no way of getting in, and he seemed completely oblivious to their knocking and yelling and demanding he let them in, so Shikamaru was given peace for quite some time. He wasn't sure where Sasuke slept that night, and he really didn't care. When he woke up the next day, he spent twenty minutes trying to figure out what day it was, and felt very annoyed when he realized it was Sunday, and whether or not he wanted to ever leave his bed again, he had class tomorrow, and would have to choose between his dedication to getting good grades and his abhorrence of doing anything, which was greater than it had ever been.

He supposed this was what was described as heart-break, and he was very annoyed that he had been tricked into having such a serious problem by Ino, whom he was sure was having no such trouble right now, since she was clearly a cold-hearted witch. Unfortunately, he still found he wanted to see her, to be with her, to taste her kiss, to hear her voice…

"This is ridiculous." He groaned, rolling over and feebly attempting to smother himself with his own pillow. Why was it like this? Why did he find himself so completely infatuated with Ino, while he had been able to brush off other girls his whole life without any trouble? Was she really so much better than everyone else? So much more attractive, so much more appealing to be with, so much more interesting?

_To me she is._

It didn't make any sense, and it was irritating and painful, but he had to just believe that if he waited this out, the pain would go away. He could see now that despite what Hinata and Kiba said, he really shouldn't be with Ino. If his feelings for her were so strong now, the more time he spent worrying about her and thinking about her, the worse it would be. Better to forget her now, so that he could get over it quickly. He had been a fool to agree to be with her, to fall into the trap of being her boyfriend so easily.

_Only…it didn't feel like a trap. And when she kicked me out, it didn't make me feel free._

He just had to learn to forget those feelings, to control his desires, and learn to focus on his studies once more. He didn't have time to be in love, and he didn't have the patience for it, either. Even if she would take him back, Ino would just want him to spend all his time with her, and take her out, and sleep together…

_Why do I feel like I'm going to cry?_

He laid in bed for hours, until it began to get dark again, but then he finally got up when he had to go to the bathroom. His throat felt tight as he passed Ino's room, and he felt a sudden fear of what would happen if she saw him, what she would say, what he would say…how he would feel. He needed to stay strong, but he didn't know if he could resist the temptation if she actually _wanted_ him back…he wouldn't be able to refuse her…not now, maybe not ever.

He reached the bathroom without incident, and tried not to feel nervous as he left the room again, to pass through the hallway by her door once more, but only one step out of the room, and Temari's door opened.

"Shikamaru!" she looked surprised to see him, and she was blushing with embarrassment. "Could I…could we talk?"

"Um." Shikamaru was completely caught off guard, but then again, she didn't seem to be killing him, or really like she was _about _to kill him, so maybe she for some reason wasn't angry with him for the situation, which didn't really make sense to him, because he seemed like the person she should be most angry with. He was the one who had turned her down and then started dating someone else not long after. "Okay…" he eyed the hallway nervously. "But not out here."

"Okay, come in." she gestured for him to enter her room, and he realized that the last time he'd been let in here, he had kissed her.

_I don't have to feel guilty. And it doesn't matter what Ino would think…she's the one who threw me out. If I go into some other girl's room, that's my choice._

Still, he was a bit wary of Temari's intentions, and he eyed her bed askance when she sat down. "I'd rather stand."

"Oh, come on, I'm not going to jump you." She rolled her eyes, and he took a deep breath, bravely sitting down next to her. "Good. I just wanted to apologize for yesterday."

"What?" Shikamaru had expected her to demand him to apologize. Was Temari…broken somehow? "Why?"

"Well, I acted like…like a fool." She shook her head, flushing. "You told me no, and I was annoyed, but when I saw you with someone else…well, I should have just realized that you had been trying to let me down easy, before." She explained, picking at imaginary lint on her skirt. "I mean, you could have said, 'sorry Temari, I'm not attracted to you at all,' but instead you said you just couldn't have a girlfriend. That…that was nicer, I think. In a situation like that…it's really hard to hear the truth…because it's not what you want. It was kind of you to spare me, but obviously, you had to know that I'd find out when you started dating Ino. Naruto told me…he said you guys were seeing each other in secret for a while, and that you probably had no idea how to break it to me…because, I mean, no offense to Sasuke, but he wasn't really that concerned with how much heart break came out of him choosing Naruto. But you…you wanted me…" she let out a harsh laugh, and Shikamaru felt a vague terror that she was going to actually start crying. He would have no idea what to do, in that case.

"I'm happy that you were able to find someone you're happy with." She sniffed slightly. "And I think…I don't think it would have worked between us, anyway." Her voice had a false cheer to it, now, and Shikamaru felt, if anything, worse than he had before he started talking to her. "I mean…I spend so much energy worrying about Kankurou and Gaara, and it would really have been hard to fit a boyfriend in, and to put him above that would have just been…well, I guess I just really liked you from the first time I met you, when you helped Gaara. I had never seen anyone really be nice to him before…and I guess I couldn't help thinking maybe I deserved…" she went silent and turned away, her shoulders shaking slightly, and now Shikamaru knew she really was crying.

"Don't…don't cry." He patted her shoulder, feeling like he was the worst comforter ever. However, Temari immediately turned to him, sobbing into his shoulder and hugging him tightly while he had a sudden nightmare vision of Ino bursting in for no apparent reason and seeing them together. He put his hands on her shoulders, where they could not touch anything dangerous, just in case. "I'm not really worth the effort."

"Oh please," she made a noise that was half a laugh, half a sob, pulling away and wiping at her eyes, trying to smile and recover herself. "You had two girls going after you and you still don't see that you're worth it? Honestly, and even though she can be a pain in the ass, Ino's probably the prettiest girl I've ever even seen in real life."

"She kicked me out." Shikamaru told her, pursing his lips before sighing heavily. "We're not even together anymore."

"But…but yesterday…" Temari blinked at him in surprise, her face dry but still a bit blotchy. "What could have possibly happened? You've only been together a few weeks!"

"Officially, it was six days." Shikamaru told her. "It was a mistake to agree to date her…I'd told myself I didn't have time…I mean, even in high school girls were too much work, and so in college, I just wanted to focus, and she just…"

"Made you put everything aside?" Temari arched an eyebrow. "Made you forget everything else?"

"Well…I mean, it didn't really seem like work…with her." Shikamaru admitted. "I'm sorry, I don't really want to talk about it, and I'm sure you don't want to hear about it. Do you want to just…play chess or something? Like we used to?"

"That…that would be nice." Temari pulled out the board and set it up, but as soon as Shikamaru touched the pawn, he got a very strained expression on his face and sighed heavily.

"I don't think I can play this right now." He told her finally, turning away, trying not to think of all Ino's stupid names for the chess pieces, trying not to think of the games they had played together, of how easily she had beat him…

"Are you sure you don't want to talk about it." Temari frowned at him. "Because you seem to be doing about as good as Gaara was when he was lovesick over Neji. And even though I really shouldn't be helping you get with _another _girl, I'm better at being a mom than I am at being a regular girl. I guess I'll always be alone."

"Don't talk like that." Shikamaru grumbled, feeling irritable, but finding that Temari's mood suited his, in any case. "If you really want to be with someone, it'll work out." She gave him a wry look, and he coughed nervously. "I mean…someone else."

"Well, like I said, it's for the best. I don't really have time for it, do I?" she told him briskly. "But I don't think that what you're doing is healthy. I mean, you don't even want to play chess? You've got it bad, but you're sitting there saying that you're better off without her, and you can't even walk down the hall without looking like you're getting ready to go into battle. Maybe you should think it over."

"She doesn't feel the same way." Shikamaru told her in annoyance. Why was Temari trying to make him get together with Ino? Wasn't this totally against her interests? "And it'll just be worse if I got back with her now and had to have it end again later. At this point…I wasn't really that attached, so I'll just—"

"Bullshit." Temari rolled her eyes. "This sulky acting like you're not moping thing just doesn't suit you. Sorry, I mean I know it worked pretty freaking well for your emo roommate, but you're just not that kind of guy. That's why I like you. That's probably why Ino turned to you, to. I mean, after someone like Sasuke, you're a breath of fresh air."

"You'll piss off Naruto, talking like that." Shikamaru couldn't stop himself from smiling at that. "I mean, Sasuke can't help being a whiny bastard, and apparently that's exactly the sort of thing Naruto's in to."

"Can…can I ask you something?" Temari asked, and Shikamaru shrugged. "Do you think…I mean, do you think it would have worked out…between us?"

"Temari…" Shikamaru sighed heavily, and had to stop himself. Now that he knew how much this hurt…he didn't know she felt so strongly for him, but still…it wasn't something he should mock her with, or ignore so easily. "I think you're right, it wouldn't have worked between us."

"Yeah…yeah, you're right." She turned to him and smiled. "I think…we think too much alike sometimes. About certain things. We're both so logic minded. You need someone like Ino to make you look at things a different way."

"Stop that." Shikamaru scowled. "Shouldn't you want me to forget all about her and be with you instead?"

"There's really no chance of that, though." Temari shrugged. "I want my brother to be happy all the time around me, to be carefree and laugh and tell jokes and want to hug me just because…but that's never going to be the case. I just have to make sure he's as happy as he can be…and even though I had my doubts, Neji…well, Neji makes him smile more than I ever could, so I have to be happy with that. Right?"

"Yeah, but he's your brother." Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "It's a different situation."

"I guess." Temari shrugged. "But the same principle applies. I can _want_ for you to be happy with me, to want to be with me, to see only me, to love me, the way any normal girl would want someone to care about her. But it doesn't always work out so neatly. You don't feel the same, and I can't force you to change. You want Ino, and even though you're too lazy to just go get her, she probably wants you, too. You should be happy! You found someone who you want to be with, someone who wants you back. You know, the funny thing is that I wasn't positive, but I think Kiba was interested in me at the beginning of the year, but I was kinda…well, me, and he started to shift over until he was focused on Hinata, who wanted Naruto, but then he ended up with Sasuke, and she saw that Kiba was good for her, in the end. Maybe I should have…but no, I don't think it would have worked with Kiba, either. Too much work."

Shikamaru did laugh at that, but he wasn't sure he should be laughing, so he stopped himself and coughed, only to see that she was laughing as well. "It's weird the way things end up." He sighed.

"Things haven't ended yet." She pointed out. "I mean, you aren't dead, so there's still time, right?"

"You're pretty optimistic for someone related to Gaara." Shikamaru pointed out, and she laughed again. "You know…I think I do want to play chess." He told her after a long pause, and they both turned back to the board.

"Right! Well you better prepare yourself, because I've been training in secret!" she told him, as he made the first move. This time, it didn't make him want to cry to touch the chess pieces. But he couldn't put his heart into the game, after all. It was too busy focusing on the girl down the hall.

--

"You've heard the way he speaks." Neji pursed his lips and stared at the ceiling disconsolately. "And I have no idea what his parents do. If they even _have_ jobs. They could be drug dealers or pimps or something. And he drinks too much, and he'll encourage _her_ to drink more than she should."

"Mmph," Gaara was busy trying to distract Neji using his mouth. He felt that this was a tactic which was sure to be successful. He had finally reached his goal, so he was sure that now Neji would stop complaining about Hinata's life choices and pay attention to what was going on between his hips.

"And…and his room's a mess. He probably doesn't even care about her, he just wants her to pick up after him." Neji let out a soft noise, and Gaara glanced up at him, to see if he was looking at him yet, but he was still staring at the ceiling. "Her father always said that when the time came, he would arrange a proper marriage for her. I'm sure you understand. I'm sure your father had similar plans for Temari, and if he were alive now…if she had dated him, he would likely never have approved of Shikamaru. He's smart, but lazy, and has no ambition. What sort of man would he be to take care of your sister? Honestly, I'm surprised you weren't more upset with her for thinking that would be a suitable…" he grunted again, louder this time, and Gaara felt fingers sink into his hair, but to his surprise, Neji pulled him away, frowning at him. "Can you stop that? I'm trying to talk to you about something serious."

"What?" Gaara couldn't believe his ears. "You're worrying about things that don't matter."

"Are you saying you wouldn't care if Temari started dating someone today? Even if it was someone who might be a bad influence, might just be after her money, might not care for her or be worthy of her?" Neji was shocked.

"I don't give a shit who Temari wants to date. She's smart enough not to do anything idiotic, and if she was getting some, maybe she'd be less grumpy." Gaara was thoroughly offended that Neji could just stop him while he was doing him such a nice favor. "What do you care if Hinata wants to date Kiba? He's not a bad person, you know him. He may not have gone to finishing school or anything, but Hinata's polite enough for both of them. At least he hasn't killed a man."

"Don't." Neji pursed his lips, sitting up to face Gaara better. "What you did…what choice did you really have then?"

"You can make it sound as nice as you want, but even with what she did know of me, your cousin never questioned it when we got together." Gaara pointed out. "At the least, she knew about my temper, about some of my past, I'm sure you talked with her about the highlights. I'm dangerous, and she gave us her full support. She even got Temari to stop hating you so much."

"But…you're not like that." Neji couldn't understand why everyone, including Gaara himself, were bringing up his relationship with Gaara as a reason why he shouldn't be questioning Hinata's decision to date Kiba. "You're…you're better. There's no one in the world like you. I love you."

"That's probably how they feel about each other, too." Gaara pointed out. "But you're opposing it because you don't think his family is rich enough? I thought you were a better man than that."

"That's not…I don't mean…it's not about the money." Neji felt very sheepish when Gaara put it like that. "He's not…he's not good enough for her."

"So you would rather she be miserable with a rich doctor she's never met than happy with a fellow student she cares about?" Gaara arched a crimson eyebrow, and Neji flopped back down onto his pillow.

"You're right." He sighed. "What am I saying? She…she should do what makes her happy, and if she's happy with Kiba…"

"It's okay," Gaara took pity on him, leaning over to kiss his mouth softly before beginning to work his way back down to where he'd been before. "You're just worried about her. You want to protect her, that's normal."

"Ah!" Neji bit off a gasp as Gaara returned to his original task. "I love you."

"Mmmph." Gaara glanced up, and this time, the silver eyes were locked on him.

--

Sasuke stared at the clock as he listened to his professor explain their homework assignment with half an ear. It was Thursday of their first week back to class, and Sasuke had a date this afternoon. It was very annoying that he had been forced to _schedule_ sex around Shikamaru's schedule, but his roommate was refusing to leave the room for anything but class. At least he could sleep in there now, but since the only way to have sex was in front of his roommate, which he did not want to do, sleeping with Naruto was suddenly very…difficult. There were too many people around to try and get away with secret shower sex, so now…it had been since Saturday afternoon…it felt like eons.

But Sasuke had found Shikamaru's class schedule, and he had it figured out, now. He was in a lecture until 1:30 on Thursday, and Naruto was in photography until 2:00, but at 2:30, Shikamaru had a lecture that lasted until 4:00, so that meant, figuring that it might take about fifteen minutes to get to and from class, Naruto and him had two whole hours of private time. However, Naruto had a tendency to stay late in his photography lab, so Sasuke was taking no risks. He would go straight from here to wait for Naruto and personally escort him back to their room for as much sex as they could pack into those two hours. Between work study jobs and classes and soccer, that was so far the only period of time that was regularly scheduled for Naruto and Sasuke to be free when Shikamaru had to be somewhere else. Sasuke felt it was very unfair that philosophy seemed to not take up nearly enough of his roommate's time. Also, he felt Shikamaru should agree to the suggestion Naruto and him change rooms, but he had been hesitant when Naruto brought it up, and Sasuke was pretty sure that Shikamaru was of the mindset that if he was not getting sex, no one should be. Sasuke thought that was very unfair.

Finally, the class ended, and he nearly sprinted across campus until he reached the building where Naruto would be and peered into the window of the classroom. He couldn't see his lover, but he knew Naruto had some rolls of film he had been wanting to develop, so he was probably in one of the dark rooms. He wanted to rush in and drag him out, but he had to be respectful. He watched the clock in the room, compared it to his watch, and waited very impatiently for it to be two o' clock, but the fifth time he checked his watch to see that it was still 1:52, the door opened, and Naruto came out, looking flushed and excited.

"I got out early." He explained swiftly, and Sasuke couldn't stop himself, he pinned Naruto against the wall right outside the classroom and kissed him long and deep. "Yeah, I know," Naruto breathed heavily as they broke, lips still nearly touching. "I know…we have to get him to trade rooms…I can't go on like this."

"Come on, then." Sasuke held his hand all the way back to their dorm, not caring about the occasional odd looks and stares, only caring that soon, finally, Naruto would be inside of him, and everything in the world would be perfect again. On the stairs, he realized that just the anticipation was making him hard, and for a moment, he almost wanted to just do it right in the stairwell, but the thought of exposing Naruto to so many eyes…to letting anyone see him mid-orgasm…Sasuke couldn't go through with it.

"God, I want you so bad." Naruto breathed in his ear as he fumbled with his keys, of course making it that much harder to find the right one. Finally, he got it in the door and they burst in, and it wasn't until he'd been tackled on the bed by Naruto, who clearly really _did_ want him badly that he realized Shikamaru was still there, quietly reading on his bed.

"I swear to god, if you don't leave right now, I will beat the shit out of you and dump you in the hall." Sasuke gritted the words out.

"Sasuke…we can just wait." Naruto breathed, but Sasuke could feel his erection pressed hot and urgent on his thigh, and knew that Naruto was reaching a point of desperation as well. He was just nicer than Sasuke.

"Shikamaru, because of you, I haven't had sex in five days." Sasuke struggled out from under Naruto, who didn't fight too badly, since he wanted Shikamaru gone pretty badly as well. "If you want your fucking girlfriend back, go _get her already_! Stop punishing the rest of us. And don't start that 'you don't understand my sorrow' bullshit with me, because you don't have the _first clue_ what Naruto and I have been through, so despite what you may see, don't just assume that everything's been smooth sailing for us and try to take out your stupid mistake on everyone else. Just fucking own up like a man, and go get it taken care of, and I swear, if you ever make me go this long without sex again, I will kill you. I will smother you with your stupid moping pillow. Now _go_." He hissed, lowering himself so that it would be very easy to strangle Shikamaru if he put up a fight.

"I hate you guys." He grumbled, tossing down his book. "So much." With that, he left the room, and Sasuke leapt on Naruto at once, both of them struggling to get out of their clothes as fast as humanly possible, and into each other.

Six days apart had been akin to physical torture, and Sasuke was determined it would never have to happen again.

--

"I'm going to class, seeya." Tenten waved at her roommate, who proceeded to stare at her fingernails, as though they could somehow make her feel better about everything that had happened recently. Tenten was trying to cheer her up by just being cheerful. It was annoying. She was so happy with Shino all the time. Why did they have to be like that? Couldn't they fight over his bug collection or something?

There was a knock on the door and she heaved herself up, feeling sluggish and unable to really put any effort into anything. She was wearing her comfort pajamas, lounge pants and a thermal shirt. She didn't really want to dress nice ever since what had happened with Shikamaru, and she couldn't even wait until she'd gotten home for five minutes before she was in her pajamas. Maybe tomorrow she'd just wear them to class.

"Hey…" she trailed off as she saw that Shikamaru was standing at her door, looking at least as downtrodden as she felt. "Hey." She repeated the word in a clipped tone and put her hands on her hips. "Can I help you?"

"I…I wanted to talk to you." He sounded weird, and she couldn't decide what it was at first, but then she realized that his tone was…pained, somehow. Meek, and afraid that she wouldn't let him talk at all. She was tempted to slam the door on his face, but she was already so miserable…probably if someone was watching she would have slammed the door…but with him looking at her with that wounded face…

"Fine. Come in." she made a sharp gesture, moving to afford him passage, and he blinked at her in surprise before coming into the room, sitting on her bed without prompting, and looking around, probably feeling a bit nostalgic.

_It's been less than a week. He can't be that nostalgic._

"Well?" she prompted him, focusing everything she had on looking outraged to have him even in her room.

"I'm sorry." He blurted out, and she felt the blood drain from her face in shock at the words. "I shouldn't have said what I said, and I'm sorry. I know you probably still don't want me to come around, but I wanted to tell you—"

He was cut off as she pushed him over and climbed on top of him, pinning his shoulders to the mattress and looking at him in a way that made him unsure as to whether she was going to now slit his throat or tear his face off. Either one didn't really sound good. "You're apologizing?" she hissed.

"For…for saying that stuff." He confirmed, a little afraid of her. "I know you're over Sasuke…and I trust you. I shouldn't have doubted, but I can't help thinking it's just crazy for someone like you to want to be with someone like me when you're so…so…"

"So…" Ino's voice became a bit breathy, and Shikamaru swallowed the lump in his throat.

"You're so…beautiful. And even with that, you're smart and you're fun to be with, and you're just…amazing." He didn't have to say anything after that, because she kissed him then, and it was wonderful, and for some reason, he felt like he might cry once more, but instead, he was kissing her back, and when she pulled away, she loosed her grip on his arms, and she smiled down at him.

"I missed you." She told him.

"Me too." He smiled back at her, and then they were kissing again, and of course, that led to more, and after some time, they were laying together, panting and enjoying the afterglow, Ino shifting so she could lie her head in the crook of Shikamaru's arm, which wrapped around her back. "I love you." He told her, surprised at how easy it was to say the words out loud, and surprised to see how much they meant to Ino. She went stiff, looked up at him, and when she apparently decided he was serious, she burst into a short bout of tears. He would probably have felt worse about this, but he could at least tell they were happy tears. She fell asleep like that, and it wasn't until he glanced at the clock while lazily combing his fingers through her hair that he realized he had completely missed his last class.

_Oh well._

Sometimes, other things were more important than class.

He fell asleep a bit after that, and when he woke up, she was still in his arms.

He knew that everything in the world was good, then.

--

To be continued…


	22. Chapter 22

Everything in Between

Everything in Between

Chapter 22

--

"I love you," Tenten sighed happily as Shino showered attention on the curve of her hip. He was methodical in his love-making, and would move from one section to the next with a sort of logic that probably only made sense to him. He sometimes skipped sections, sometimes re-visited, and sometimes managed to hit seemingly every section of her body during the course of it, but he never neglected her, that was for certain.

He was shifting, now and she could tell that he had finished his foreplay from the slightly feral light in his eyes as he moved to kiss her mouth, ground into her, and she couldn't help whimpering slightly with her need. She reached down to guide him—

"I'm home!" Lee burst in without preamble, as usual. Shino, who at this point found it more annoying than mortifying, simply swept a sheet over both of their forms, rolling onto his back and letting a long sigh. His frustration was palpable, and Tenten wondered why it was that Lee was completely oblivious to the needs of two young people in love.

"Lee…could you leave?" she attempted, holding the sheet up over her chest as she turned to see him doing sit-ups at a very fast pace that would have likely impressed her if she didn't just desperately want him gone. "Shino and I were kind of…we were in the middle of something."

"Oh, do not mind me!" Lee turned and gave her a thumbs up. "I will not disrupt you!"

"Lee…when we're trying to do that and you're in here…that's disruptive." Tenten explained, and he frowned at her as though he had no clue of what her words might mean before continuing with his exercise. Well…not that it had ever worked before, but it was always worth a try.

She wished it could be as easy for her as it was for Naruto, who had just traded rooms with Shikamaru so that he was now living with his lover, thus cutting out any possibility of having intruders. And then, of course, there were Gaara and Neji, who had the good fortune to be roommates from the beginning. But technically speaking, the school did not allow co-ed rooming, so it wasn't as though she could apply for a trade with Lee, and it wasn't as if Ino would ever want to live with him, because then where would she have sex with Shikamaru in peace?

And that's when the solution struck her.

"Shino." She turned to her lover. "I've had an idea. Let's get dressed."

He frowned slightly, but he gathered his clothes and held up a sheet for her to dress behind while Captain Oblivious continued to exercise. She rewarded him with a quick kiss before leading him down the hall to her own room, and bursting in on Ino and Shikamaru, who let out various cries of dismay at the sudden exposure.

"Tenten! Dammit!" Ino squawked as Tenten managed to get her very hesitant boyfriend to actually enter the room and sit on her bed. "We're kinda doing something right now. You mind?"

"Ino," Tenten smiled at her roommate. "It occurs to me that Shino and I have been together longer than Shikamaru and you."

"Yes, and?" Ino looked over at Shikamaru, who giving the whole thing up for a loss had simply rolled over under the sheet that was concealing him and gone to sleep. No help from that quarter, it would seem.

"This whole time, Shino and I have been meeting in his room, because at first, we were trying to keep everything quiet." Tenten explained. "And then, since we were used to it, we continued to meet there, so I became rather accustomed to it."

"Yeah, and it worked out great, cause then Shikamaru and I had this room to ourselves." Ino pointed out. "Marvelous arrangement."

"Yes, except there is actually an issue with Shino's room." Tenten pointed out.

"The bugs, huh? Yeah, that'd be creepy." Ino nodded knowingly. "You're trying to get in the mood and some praying mantis is staring at you."

"Please don't call them bugs." Shino sighed lightly, not nearly as offended by this as he had been at the beginning of the year. He knew it was a losing battle.

"No, I don't mind them at all." Tenten shook her head.

"Oh, is it Sasuke and Naruto?" Ino tapped her lips in thought. "I heard they can get a little loud sometimes."

"No, they aren't that bad." Tenten shrugged. "It's Lee. He's constantly coming in at the worst possible times, and even if we lock the door, he just lets himself in! He doesn't care that we want privacy, and sees nothing wrong with just barging in and making himself at home, completely ruining the mood, as you might guess."

"Yeah, I think I've got an inkling." Shikamaru let out a soft snore, and she rolled her eyes. "So then?"

"So, I think that since we're the senior couple, we should get this room." Tenten proposed.

"Well, what am I supposed to do?" Ino frowned. "He just moved in with Kiba and Chouji, and half the time, Hinata's in there, too. I'm supposed to kick them all out every time I want sex?"

"Honestly, I've had to deal with Lee coming in and refusing to leave for months now. I think you, of all people, can handle bossing around a few of your friends." Tenten's sympathy was very limited.

"Okay, what about we work out a schedule?" Ino suggested, seeing that she wouldn't be able to just outright refuse Tenten's demands, but wanting to see if she could force a compromise. "Like, I get the room for whatever I want during the day from Wednesday to Monday, and you guys get to use it for that stuff on Tuesdays."

"One day?" Tenten arched her eyebrows. "Are you serious?"

"Well, honestly, you guys have been together for a few months now, I'm sure the novelty has worn off." Ino speculated. "You're probably having sex maybe once or twice a month, whereas Shikamaru and I like to do it at least once or twice a day, so really, you should be thanking me! I'm giving you opportunity for four times a month, twice your best, and I'm sacrificing possibly eight times from my normal schedule to make it happen."

"Oh, that's right, I forgot, after the first month or so, you aren't interested anymore." Tenten scowled at Ino. "So since Shikamaru and you have been sleeping together since finals, I'm sure that's started to slow down for you, as well, so I think instead _we_ get six days and you get one."

"Well, I'm hotter." Ino pointed out. "Shikamaru can't keep his hands off me."

"You…you…fine!" Tenten snarled. "No deal! But you'll pay for this."

"Okay, I'm really scared." Ino snorted as the interlopers left and she turned to see if Shikamaru was really asleep or faking.

He had been faking.

--

"I'm sorry…what sort of war are you having?" Hinata had sat calmly and listened to Ino's furious rant, but she wasn't sure she quite understood, and Kiba seemed too embarrassed to explain it.

"It's a sex war." Chouji clarified. "They both want the room for it, but they don't want to share, so now they're trying to stake it out and block the other couple from getting in, right?"

"Yes." Ino pursed her lips to show she disapproved of the simplicity of his explanation. Shikamaru was no help. He seemed to be napping. "And they're cheating! I think they must be skipping class, or at least leaving early to always get home before us both! She was never home this much before!"

"Before, she was just using Shino's room, so you wouldn't really know one way or the other, technically." Kiba pointed out.

"Well…you should not fight!" Hinata plunged in. "There must be a compromise you can come to, some sort of schedule, or perhaps you could just alternate days so everyone had a fair chance, and then for special occasions, you could simply trade so that if, for instance, your anniversary fell on an off day, you could still have privacy on that day, and so on. I suppose something like Valentine's Day would pose a serious problem, but I think in that case—"

"I'm _not_ going to compromise with her! I gave her a fair chance to split room time, and she didn't want to be reasonable, so now, neither will I!" Ino declared. "I'll figure something else out. Could you guys just—"

"No sex in this room!" Chouji told her. "I already said, this room's off limits."

"Fine, fine." Ino stood up and stormed out of the room. She'd just have to look into other options. She knocked on Sakura's door, and no one answered, so figuring she knew where the girl would be, she went down the hall to Sai's room and found her there with her boyfriend and a very annoyed looking Kankurou. "Hey, I need to ask you two a favor."

"I am pleased to do favors for my friends whenever I can." Sai looked intrigued at once, setting aside his work, and Sakura glanced up from her chemistry problem set.

"Okay, well, when you guys have sex, do you use this room, or Sakura's?" Ino began, and Sakura turned such a shade of pink that it shamed her hair before returning to her studies very assiduously. Sai blinked, looked at Sakura, and then rubbed his chin as though he was considering something very intriguing. From the pink that graced his pale cheeks, she could surmise what the situation was. "Oh my god, you guys still aren't sleeping together? What are you waiting for, a freaking parade? It's February, and you've been dating since December! I was sleeping with Shikamaru _before_ I was even dating him."

"Okay, well, some of us like to go about these things _properly._" Sakura looked up, pursing her lips in annoyance and trying not to notice the way Sai still seemed to be doing various mental calculations. "First, you start to know each other, and then with time, things grow between you, and after a while, you'll both be ready, and you'll know that it's right because you're both so—"

"Kankurou, do you remember when I got in that fight with your sister?" Ino glanced at the other person in the room, and he became animated at once.

"Oh man, yeah I do!" Kankurou exclaimed. "And you just dropped your sheet and flew at her, and it was the _coolest thing ever_. And your boobs were going like—"

"Okay, that's enough." Ino sighed heavily. "I just have to make sure I hadn't fallen into a Jane Austen horror story."

"Jane Austen does not write horror, as I recall." Sai pointed out, finally diverted from his mental calculations. "I believe she wrote dramatic romance novels, often with some elements of family, all focused in the same period as she lived."

"No sex until you're married, running around in like eighty layers of clothes and trying to make a rich guy fall in love with you so that your whole family doesn't die of the pox or something?" Ino snorted. "What part of _that_ isn't a horror story?"

"I don't think anyone dies of the pox in—" Sakura began, but Ino waved her hands to show that she could care less who died of what in which books.

"Okay, just…I was going to ask you guys to do it really loud so that it would piss off Tenten and Shino and make them leave the room, but if you guys aren't using it, and Hinata's about as likely to jump in bed with Kiba as any of you Cranford escapees, then can I just borrow your room for when _I _want to have sex?" Ino asked.

"If you were attempting to continue the comparison there, I believe you made an improper reference, as Cranford, if I remember rightly, was written not by Jane Austen, but—" Sai began, but this time Sakura shook her head sharply and he stopped on his own.

"No, you cannot use my room as your sex escape, and no, I will not purposefully have loud sex in it so that I can alienate Tenten." Sakura told her in a flat tone. "What is _wrong_ with you?"

"Well, it doesn't have to be sex, as long as it sounds disturbing enough…" Ino rubbed her chin. "How far have you two gotten? Sai, be honest with me. Have you gone down on her at all?"

"Gone down…where?" Sai made a look of such adorable confusion that Ino wondered if perhaps his innocence was one of the things that Sakura liked about him. It had a certain appeal, and she had to admit, if she weren't already with Shikamaru…he was quite good-looking.

"Ino, please stop." Sakura was trying not to look embarrassed and to protect Sai's innocence, and seemed to be failing on both counts.

"Sai, she means have you ever kissed Sakura on her—" Kankurou was hit so hard with a pillow that he fell back against the wall rather hard, and came up looking very annoyed. "He wanted to know."

"You stop, too." Sakura glared at Kankurou. "I've told you not to talk to him about that stuff."

"What does she mean?" Sai turned to Sakura, seeing that Kankurou wouldn't be allowed to answer him, and not wanting to be left out of this clearly important piece of information.

"Never mind, it doesn't matter." She forced a smile and patted his hand, kissing his cheek as though that settled matters. Sai did like when she kissed him, but he didn't understand why no one could tell him.

"Okay, so then can I assume that you're both virgins, and you're a total prude?" Ino surmised, and Sakura made a face that caused the girl to move away, remembering when Sakura had slapped her so hard she'd had to ice her face down. "Fine, fine. No help here." She was annoyed with Sakura, and she could think of several ways she could get back at the girl, but she knew that Shikamaru wouldn't approve, and she was trying to avoid plotting for his sake, so she smiled at them as best she could and left.

_Isn't it plotting when I try to get Sakura and Sai to have loud sex to drive Tenten and Shino out of the room?_

_Well…that didn't work, so no use worrying about it now. Time for a different tactic._

She went down the hallway and knocked on another door. "Hello?" Temari answered, but as soon as she saw it was Ino, she scowled at her and almost slammed the door shut, but Ino grabbed the door and held it open. "What do you want?"

"Hey, we haven't had a chance to really talk about…everything that happened." Ino gave her the brightest smile she could muster and shoved her way into the room, much to Temari's obvious annoyance. She pretended she could not tell that she was being very intensely despised at that moment and sat down on Temari's bed, dangling her feet over the edge. "Oh, you have a chess set? Wanna play? I'm pretty good. I beat Shikamaru once."

"You…" Temari narrowed her eyes. She refused to believe that this girl had ever beat Shikamaru at chess, and if she had, he had probably let her. This was just one more reason to hate Ino, she was sure. "What did you want, again?"

"Well, I just wanted to say that I'm really sorry that Shikamaru chose to go with me instead of you, but you know, it's just one of those things we can't really control." Ino smiled again. "And you're not bad-looking, so you shouldn't feel bad about it. It's not like he just thought you were gross. I bet if he wasn't so lazy and stubborn, he would have gone with you before I even started to notice him."

"Hm." Temari did not want to hit Ino again. She had to keep telling herself that, since they were in this closed room, and it would be very easy to hit her without anyone stepping in.

"So I hope there aren't any hard feelings." Ino paused, clearly waiting for Temari to say something reassuring and friendly. Temari sighed heavily and arched her eyebrows expectantly. "But I did want to ask you about something."

"What?" Temari was grateful this wasn't just Ino coming in to rub her nose in her relationship with Shikamaru, and wanted the whole thing to be over and for the other girl to leave her alone to be annoyed with her own pettiness.

"Well, I just thought that it must be lonely for you in here, cut off from everyone." She shrugged. "And I thought that the least I could do was offer to trade with you. You could live with Tenten, who is great fun, and you'd be right across from Sakura and Hinata, so always someone to hang out with. Oh, and you'd be way closer to Gaara. Plus, this room is really so tiny, wouldn't you rather—"

"Okay, just get out." Temari cut her off, putting a hand to her brow and closing her eyes, praying for patience. She had to be a good example to her brothers, she couldn't just let her emotions control her.

"Oh! Okay." Ino stood. "So did you want to?"

"No! No, I'm not giving you my room, you selfish bitch!" Temari snapped, and the look of surprise and outrage on the other blonde's face were just too satisfying for her to stop at that. "You get to have Shikamaru, and you're not happy, you want my room now so you can just turn it into your little love nest? No! I want Shikamaru to be happy, and if he's happy with you, I'll stay out of it, but I'm not going to bend over backward for _you_, if that's what you think! I know that you and Tenten are having some sort of battle over private room time, and I'm _not_ going to help you! Do you think it makes me happy to see you snuggled up against him, holding hands, kissing…any of that? What the hell would make you think I'd want to give you as much time alone as you wanted, while I get to be sexiled like every other night? No! Yeah, fuck off, princess."

"Look," Ino put her hands on her hips, struggling not to be angry with Temari. "Don't get pissy with me! He chose me himself, and whatever _you_ think, I didn't trick him into it! He loves me!"

"Fine, yeah, keep telling me all about that." Temari rolled her eyes. "That's all I want to hear about. Tell me about everything nice he does for you. No, really, go ahead. I think that will make me feel much better."

"Just find yourself a boy who wants you and leave us alone!" Ino sneered. "Start dating Lee. Then he'd stay in here, Tenten would go back to Shino's room, Shikamaru and I would have my room back, and you'd be getting laid. Everyone wins." Temari slapped her then, a sharp, quick strike across the cheek, and Ino clenched her fists, remembering the fight they had just been in, and though she wanted to throttle this girl and tell her to stay away from Shikamaru, she knew that he would be displeased if she did that. He'd probably be disappointed just to know she'd said those things to Temari, and she hated the thought of how he would look at her, with that pained expression in his eyes, not able to bring himself to say that she had done something wrong, but clearly thinking it.

Unable to restrain herself any longer, she pushed past Temari and ran down the hall back to Shikamaru's room, ignoring the other people looking up as she rushed in, face red and eyes moist. She kicked her shoes off and climbed onto the bed with Shikamaru, and though she thought he was actually asleep, he rolled over when he felt her weight on the bed and opened his arms to her, blinking sleepily, a lazy smile on his face.

She burst into tears.

"Oh fine." Chouji got up and left, and Hinata looked from Ino to Kiba, who shrugged in bewildered panic. Hinata pursed her lips, apparently decided they were intruding on a private moment, and pulling her boyfriend up and out of the room.

"Hey," Shikamaru was definitely awake now, and he tried to replay the last few hours to figure out what was going on, but since he'd been asleep for a good portion of that, he really had no idea. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"No—nothing." She sniffled, calming herself and wiping her tears, but Shikamaru pushed her hand away gently, and kissed her eyelids, her cheeks, her lips, her forehead, the tip of her nose. She sighed, her breath catching slightly, letting the slow, deliberate kisses calm her, as though they were easing her inner turmoil.

"Feel better?" he asked after several minutes, brushing the hair out her face, combing his fingers through the platinum locks in a gesture he knew relaxed her. She opened her eyes and nodded, giving him a small smile. "What happened?" he asked, knowing that Ino could become emotional, but that she wasn't the sort to simply start crying for no apparent reason.

"I…do you think I'm selfish?" she asked, and he sighed.

"No," he told her. "And anyone who thinks you are doesn't really know you, so don't worry about it."

"I keep…I can't help doing things, and when I realize that you wouldn't like it, I stop…but I just…I don't even think it's wrong until it's too late, and then I just can't help thinking…how can you love me? I'm so…so…mean." She sniffed again and he pressed a kiss to her cheek.

"You're not," he shook his head. "you're not mean."

"I tried to get Sakura and Sai to drive Tenten out of the room." She admitted, feeling another sob working its way free. "And then when that didn't work, I tried to get Temari to give me her room…and we got in a fight…and the things I said…I said mean things." She bowed her head against his chest, the tears breaking free. "She hates me, and I mean…I know why."

"Stop," he kissed the top of her head, his brow furrowing. At least Ino didn't look like she had been another physical fight with Temari, although she hadn't been that banged up from the last one. "Come on, now. It's not like I didn't know you before we got together. Did you think you'd tell me you'd been plotting things and I'd be shocked and offended and just dump you? Do you really think I would leave you after all the trouble I've been through already? Nothing you can do makes me feel worse than how I felt for those days when I knew how I felt about you, but thought that we would never be back together. And I knew it would be worse if it happened later…I was afraid to get back with you, I was afraid of how much my feelings for you had taken over…everything in such a short time, and I thought that if I lost you again I wouldn't even be able to move on, to function, to do anything. And you think I'd leave you?"

"Stop being sweet like that." Ino sniffled. "You'll make me cry again."

"Look what you did, though." Shikamaru smiled softly. "You got everyone to leave us alone."

"Oh…yeah." Ino smiled softly at him. "Although…I have to say, I don't feel very sexy right now."

"I don't know, the blotches are kind of nice." Shikamaru teased, and she made a face at him.

"I just meant…is it okay if we don't…I mean, I know this is our first chance in days, but I…I really just want to lay here with you, and just…just be with you."

"Sure," Shikamaru agreed. "You can get naked if you want."

"You wish." Ino couldn't help giggling slightly. "I love you."

"I know." Shikamaru kissed her again. "For some reason."

"Oh, don't start. We've had enough drama for one day." She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Next time you _are_ feeling sexy, though." Shikamaru told her. "That worked really well. You could totally get us alone time."

"I could," she smiled. "But I'd feel bad breaking Chouji's rule. It's like the only thing he's ever asked for."

"Eh, just make him apology pie, he'd forgive you." Shikamaru told her. "I know what you mean, though. But we could try it on Tenten."

"Yeah…well, if we can get in there before her." Ino speculated. "I wouldn't mind seeing Shino naked, though. I'm curious to see what exactly she's getting for putting up with the bugs."

"Hey now." Shikamaru pretended to look stern and then started tickling her. It made her laugh, which was really all he wanted. Well, he did kind of want her to wriggle against him, so it wasn't completely selfless. Maybe she'd start feeling sexy. Maybe they could break Chouji's rule after all.

But just being with her was enough for him, anyway.

--

To be continued…


	23. Chapter 23

Everything in Between

Everything in Between

Chapter 23

--

"Hello," Sai did not know why he felt guilty, but he thought it had something to do with the fact that he was almost positive Sakura would not be pleased if she knew what he was doing right now. "Kiba, may I speak with you?"

"Sure," Kiba was sitting on his bed with Hinata, and they both appeared to be studying. This was very similar to how Sai and Sakura spent a lot of their time together, so it put him at ease. Certainly she could not say he was a bad influence if he was just as respectful and studious! "What's up?"

"I would prefer to speak in private." Sai had thought of bringing this to Kankurou, but he felt since Sakura had forbid his roommate to speak on the subject, this was going against her wishes much less if he spoke to Kiba, who he still felt was willing to help him. "It is a private problem I wish to discuss."

"Oh…okay, I guess." Kiba made a face, clearly confused about this, but since Chouji was also in the room, it really wasn't that secluded of a venue, and besides that, Sai was afraid that Hinata would tell on him to her roommate, and he would be in trouble for doing something he was almost positive she did not want him to do, but he still felt the restriction was a bit unfair, and possibly harmful to him. "Where should we go?" Kiba asked once they were out in the hallway.

"My room will be quite alright. Kankurou is gone doing puppet theater for the rest of the day." Sai paused and turned to Kiba. "Do not tell anyone, I only just recalled, he said not to say anything to anyone about it."

"P—puppet theater?" Kiba seriously doubted he'd be able to resist telling anyone about that. "He does puppet theater?"

"In his free time, yes." Sai nodded, letting Kiba into his room and moving to take a chair, gesturing for Kiba to sit as well. "Now, this is the matter I wished to discuss." Sai turned to his desk and tore a page out of his notebook, handing it to Kiba. "Please explain to me all these terms."

"You want to know what…all of these are?" Kiba went a bit red as he looked over the list, and couldn't help laughing a little. "I'm sorry…but some of these even I don't know. Where are you hearing these things?"

"Various places. Many are things that I have heard Kankurou say." Sai shrugged. "It is alright if you do not know all of them. "I assume many are sexual in nature?"

"Well, this one and this one have to do with drugs." Kiba pointed to a couple of items on the list, "and I don't know what the hell…felching is. And I _think_ I know what this one is, but I'm not a hundred percent…you know what?"

"Yes?" Sai leaned forward, excited to finally have his questions answered.

"I bet if you go to urban dictionary online, you can look all these things up, even these ones." He told Sai. "Plus, I bet it describes these better than I could. And if you hear anything else you don't understand, I bet it's there, too. Oh, but all these…" Kiba grabbed a pen and starred five items on the list. "These just mean vagina. And then these ones…" he put arrows next to several more. "These just mean dick. You get that?"

"Oh…yes, very clever, I see, wand is a reference to the shape, and the love is because it is used in the act of making love." Sai rubbed his chin while pointing to one such entry. "Although Johnson, I am not sure what the etymology is behind this one…intriguing. I wonder if perhaps there was a family with this surname, and perhaps all the men in the family had extraordinarily remarkable penises."

"Um…who knows." Kiba was struggling not to laugh, because he thought it might hurt Sai's feelings, and really, he couldn't help that his parents apparently wanted him to be completely without any social savvy at all.

"Why must there be so many terms for such simple things?" Sai was examining the list again. "Meat trap? I don't feel I find that to be a very pleasant term. It sounds as though the vagina has a dark design on me."

"Well…probably don't ever use any of these." Kiba recommended. "Most of these will just make Sakura slap you, but if you want to know what they are, just look them up. Plus, you know, then if she ever asks you to do any of these things, you'll know what she wants, right?"

"Kiba, are you having sex with Hinata already?" Sai asked, and Kiba's eyes went wide while he flushed deeply. Somehow, this was much more embarrassing than discussing sexual slang with Sai.

"Why?" Kiba wasn't sure that was information he really wanted to share.

"I am a virgin." Sai began, and Kiba, to his credit, did not say anything mocking, although he seriously doubted that Sai would even understand he was being teased. "Sakura is, as well, but I know many of our friends are already enjoying the sex rather frequently, and from what I have heard, it is a good time. I enjoy the kissing and the hand holding, but I believe that I am ready to try something more advanced. I have read briefly about the act, and I understand how the mechanics are meant to work. I believe that I would enjoy putting my penis in her, but I am not sure how best to broach the subject. Kankurou told me I should just…jump her, but Temari said not to listen to him, as the only way he could get a woman to have sex with him involved a large monetary transaction of some sort. She said I should speak to Sakura, but I am afraid I do not know what I would say. I thought you might be in a somewhat similar situation, and so I was curious as to how you spoke to Hinata about getting sex."

"Well…it hasn't really come up yet." Kiba flushed and coughed slightly. "We haven't been together very long, really, and I just want to take things slowly with her. Plus, since she's a virgin, I can't just…just jump her."

"So it does make a difference?" Sai seemed very interested in this. "Temari told me it would make a difference. She said the first time is meant to be special."

"Uh, yeah," Kiba shrugged. "Girls especially want that, but I think my first time…I just wanted to have sex. But you know, if you think of how it works, it can really hurt her if you aren't careful, so you really have to like, build up to it."

"Oh yes, foreplay, I have heard of this." Sai nodded thoughtfully.

"Well…I mean, if you've only ever really kissed, you should probably try some other stuff first before you skip straight to sex. That way, you're taking your time, and you're both getting comfortable with each other, so it's not like you whip it out and just…" Kiba trailed off, at a loss.

"Put it in?" Sai finished for him, and he nodded vaguely. "Interesting. What sort of other activities are there that lie on the pathway between kissing and sex?"

"Um…maybe…read a little more about foreplay." Kiba cleared his throat, not really sure how comfortable he was giving Sai a step-by-step guide to getting Sakura in bed. "Most of that stuff…you can just do it without having sex after, and it's really…really nice."

"I will do that." Sai nodded sharply and stood up, prompting Kiba to stand as well. "Very good. Sakura is home from work in soon, but that gives me plenty of time to follow up with the research you recommended. I thank you for your assistance, and wish you the best of luck with having the sex with Hinata."

"Um…thanks." Kiba flushed and left, not really knowing what to say beyond that, and not really believing he had just been through such a conversation. He walked back to his room as if in a daze and Hinata smiled brightly at him.

"Everything okay?" she asked, and he nodded slightly, sitting beside her once more and staring blankly at his homework, now preoccupied with too many things to possibly concentrate on the work he was supposed to be doing. "Are you sure you're fine?" Hinata finally set aside her book when it was clear he wasn't working or seemingly able to concentrate at all. "If something is on your mind, we can talk about it."

He turned to her, and considered how lucky he was, how happy she made him, and realized that while sometimes he shied away from showing her, he really did love her. She was beautiful and delicate and wonderful, and everything he could ever want.

_So why am I sitting here wanting her, just studying instead?_

It didn't make any sense, when he thought of it that way. Why _couldn't_ he just jump her? It wasn't as though they had never done _anything_ together. How would he know if she would be okay with it until he tried? The worst that could happen would be if she told him to stop, which wouldn't make any great change to his current situation, anyway.

He leaned in, kissing her with everything he had, and felt her go limp in his arms as he pulled her to him. When he leaned further, she fell to the bed without any hesitation, and suddenly he knew that she was ready. He could see it in her eyes, he could read it in her expression, and he could hear it in the soft noises she made as he kissed and caressed her.

"You guys!" Chouji complained, and Hinata stiffened under him. Kiba pulled back, saw the light shining in her silver eyes, and he stood, pulling her up to her feet, and down the hall. They were both flushed when he opened her door.

"Oh, hello." Sakura looked up, having clearly just returned from work, looked up. "What's up, guys?"

Kiba couldn't help it. He knew it shouldn't be funny, he should be annoyed and frustrated, and angry, but he started laughing, and so did Hinata, and Sakura looked at them both like they were out of their mind.

"Um…something funny?" she asked, and Hinata bent over, unable to stop giggling. Kiba shook his head, backing out of the room and slumping against the wall until he could recover himself.

"Hey," he turned to Hinata, who was smiling, cheeks pinked and eyes glowing with mirth. "Wanna go to dinner?"

"Sure!" she agreed at once, and turned to grab her coat, rejoining him while Sakura gave them both odd looks. He didn't really see her, though. To him, Hinata was the only thing that mattered, the only thing he could see, the center of everything. He smiled and took her hand, knowing now that whether it was tonight or a month from now, they would move on with their relationship, and that she wanted him just as much as he wanted her. Somehow…just knowing made him able to wait.

--

"Hey," Sakura entered Sai's room and flopped down on his bed. "How was your day?"

"Very informative." Sai told her, nodding slightly and standing from his desk to join her on the bed, clambering over her reclined form.

"Studying?" she asked as he drew closer to her, his eyes focused on her face. "You don't have to stop just because I'm here."

"I am studying right now." He told her, his voice soft as his body hovered over hers, his lips inches from hers, and Sakura's breath caught as she saw how overwhelming his passion could be when it was so completely focused on her. "I am studying you."

"Sai," she tried to laugh, but it sounded so weak, and he blinked at her, his face solemn and concentrated, his eyes deep and dark and impenetrable. He lowered his face, and her eyes flickered closed as his lips came to hers, pressing softly, sweetly, and then slowly moving, giving his tongue access, and she moaned into the kiss, feeling a tingling excitement run through her entire body, causing her to shudder underneath him.

Her hands were clutching at his sides suddenly, as though she couldn't help herself, and she pulled at him, wanting him closer to her, and he obliged, lowering herself so that there was a strangely satisfying pressure on her own body from his weight, but before it could become uncomfortable, he broke the kiss and pulled away, letting her breathe a moment before he turned a bit so that he was now lying down beside her, and she turned to face him, this time initiating the kiss herself, feeling his tongue against hers, his body flush with hers, his hand wandering under her shirt, and she gasped in surprise. So far, they'd mostly only kissed. He didn't typically put his hands anywhere that might be termed "dangerous," and she thought he was just a bit afraid of taking things any further. Now he was trying to get her shirt off, and she blinked at him in surprise.

"What are you doing?" she asked, and he stopped at once, his hands frozen with the hem of her shirt clutched in them, held at just below her breasts.

"It is called fooling around, in general." Sai told her. "Kiba said not to jump right into sex, and I thought this was a good middle ground. He told me I should…take it slow."

_Sai wants to have sex?_

This was news to her. Although, it wasn't something that came up in conversation very often, as typically any mention of it caused her to attempt to shield his ears. Maybe he wasn't terrified at the thought, after all. Maybe it excited him. Maybe it excited her, as well.

But she wasn't sure she was ready for sex, and as weird as it felt to agree with Kiba, she knew that it was probably a much better idea for Sai and her to take things slowly. She had never done it before, and she wanted it to be special when they did reach that point, for both of them.

So in the mean time…

"I think that's a very good idea." She unbuttoned the top button of his shirt, and he smiled, kissing her again before discarding her shirt. "Wait!" she leapt up, ran to the door, locked it, and returned. "I don't want to be interrupted."

"Very good." He opened his arms, and she fell into them.

--

"Finally, all my teachings have brought him to this point." Kankurou sighed with satisfaction as he entered Chouji's room, taking up a vacant spot on Kiba's bed as his seat.

"Who?" Chouji glanced up from his typing, but Ino and Shikamaru were whispering to each other on Shikamaru's bed and did not seem to care at all that Kankurou was even in the room.

"Today, Sai becomes a man." Kankurou explained.

"Oh, you're sexiled?" Chouji clarified, and Kankurou nodded, not looking quite as pleased anymore.

"You shouldn't say it like that." Kankurou told him. "I'm leaving Sai to find who he is, and to give it to her. To give it to her good. Go, Sai."

"You are weird." Ino looked up. "Plus, I seriously doubt they're actually having sex. They're probably just fooling around. They're not going to go from no sex at all to suddenly just having sex all the time."

"We did." Shikamaru pointed out, and she rolled her eyes.

"That's different, they're virgins." Ino explained simply. "Plus, Sakura's never going to settle for losing it in the middle of the day right after she gets home from work. She probably wants him to like buy her lots of stuff and take her out and do all this other stuff with her, and then finally maybe she'll let him in her pants."

"That's probably just you." Kankurou opined. "You just want Shikamaru to do all kinds of stuff to get you in bed."

"I don't make him do that, do I?" she asked, and Shikamaru shook his head, shrugging slightly at the same time. "See?"

"Yeah, well you try to." Kankurou told her. "But you forget that you're easy, so then it's just a contest, what's more powerful? Shikamaru's need to do nothing, or your need to get with him?"

"You…get out!" Ino huffed in anger. "I am _not_ easy. Shikamaru?"

"Nope…not easy." He confirmed at once. "Very difficult, sometimes."

"This isn't your room, you can't kick me out." Kankurou told her, and she turned to Shikamaru, who sighed heavily and gestured toward the door. "I was just kidding around! Although, honestly, almost everyone in this room _has_ seen your tits, so you shouldn't act so high and mighty! And if Kiba were here, he'd—"

"Get. The. Hell. Out." Ino had just nailed Kankurou in the head with a shoe, and she held another one, clearly ready for a follow up attack.

"But I—" he began, but to everyone's surprise, Shikamaru stood, strode over to the bed where Kankurou was sitting, and grabbed his arm, pulling him to his feet and escorting him to the door.

"Don't say another word." His voice was strained, and he pushed the other man out of the room, where he stood a moment looking as sad as he could manage before slumping off down the hall to Temari's room.

"Hey," he entered without knocking, and she frowned at him.

"What do you want?" she asked, closing her textbook to focus on him.

"I don't have anywhere to go." He explained. "Sakura and Sai are getting busy."

"Please don't call it that." She rolled her eyes. "Well, I'm studying. You can stay in here if you're very quiet and sit still."

"Can I watch TV?" he asked, and she shook her head. "What are you studying?"

"I have a test tomorrow, I'm serious." She glared at him. "Why don't you go hang out in Shikamaru's room."

"I got kicked out." He admitted. "I was talking about Ino's boobs."

"What is wrong with you?" Temari asked. "Seriously."

"Hey," he knocked on the wall loudly. "You guys, finish up! I want my room back!"

"Don't!" Temari glared at him. "Don't disturb them. How would you feel if you had a girl in there and Sai was yelling at you to finish up?"

"Duh, you don't take a girl to your room for sex." Kankurou told her. "You go to her room, and then later you get to walk back to your room all like 'I just got laid.' And your buddies are excited, cause they didn't get _kicked out of their own room_." He rose his voice for the last bit, and Temari smacked his arm.

"Stop talking about it like a conquest." She told him sharply. "No wonder you can't get a girlfriend. You're disgusting."

"Hey! Gaara can't get a girlfriend, either." He pointed out, laughing, and Temari rolled her eyes at him again. "Well, I guess if you count Neji—"

"Okay, get out." She stood, ushering him toward the door. "I told you you could stay if you were quiet and sat still, but you're not doing either of those things, and I have a test to study for. Go bother someone else."

"Ugh." Kankurou couldn't believe that his own sister had kicked him out. What was the world coming to? Sai was getting laid, he wasn't, and he was stuck in the hall with nowhere to go. He wandered toward Gaara's door, but heard a noise as he approached that told him he really did not want to go in there. He couldn't believe this. All his friends were sell-outs. They were all getting trapped in relationships while he remained the only one with any freedom, except Chouji, who was so surrounded in the disgusting couples that he had forgotten how to have fun, probably, and Lee, who was just a weirdo. Why didn't anyone understand that college was for partying? Even his greatest ally, Kiba, had been entrapped by ultra-polite Hinata, and now he wasn't even close to the same person he used to be. It was very depressing.

--

"We need to have a party, man." Kankurou was pleased to catch Kiba by himself the next day. "We should do it this weekend. It's been forever since we had fun."

"I don't know." Kiba frowned, hitching his bag on his shoulder. "Saturday is Valentine's Day. I kinda wanted to spend it with Hinata."

"She can come!" Kankurou could not believe that Kiba wasn't wanting to throw a party. "Come on! You're like totally forgetting all your friends just to spend time with your girlfriend all the time. What's the deal?"

"Well…what about like the week after that? If you want a party so bad—" Kiba began and Kankurou threw up his hands in frustration. "Well, it's not like I'm going to tell Hinata 'oh, sorry about Valentine's Day, we're gonna play drinking games and get tanked.' Plus, I was going to…I mean, I was thinking it would be the perfect night to…you know."

"I can't believe you." Kankurou grumbled. "How do you think we're all supposed to be friends still if you're just going to closet up with your girlfriend and never come out?"

"I'm out right now. I'm going to class." Kiba frowned at him. "If you're my friend, you should be happy for me, anyway. If you're jealous, get your own girlfriend."

"I don't want a damn girlfriend!" Kankurou returned.

"Fine, then get a boyfriend!" Kiba shot back. "I don't give a shit! It's not like just because I'm with Hinata we're not friends anymore! If you want to do a party, fine, we'll have a fucking party, but not this weekend! If you want one _this_ weekend, throw it yourself!"

"You're a sell-out!" Kankurou accused. "How much fun are you going to have if you're always being dragged around by your girlfriend, and you never get to do anything awesome!"

"I _like_ being with Hinata!" Kiba retorted. "It _is_ fun! Maybe someday you'll meet someone that you really like spending time with, and you'll get what I mean! Until then, fuck off and stop bothering me about it! I'm not doing anything wrong!"

"Everyone in this damn house has lost their mind!" Kankurou stormed off, seriously annoyed. He liked it better when no one was dating and they all wanted to hang out. He wished he could make it like it had been.

_Maybe I can._

--

Sasuke scowled at his lab instructor when he saw the grade on his most recent lab report. Kabuto was erasing the white board and humming to himself as the students left, and seemed completely unaware that he had inspired Sasuke's displeasure.

Sasuke had always been a very diligent student, and his grades reflected this fact. He knew that he must be receiving an A in the lecture section of physics, and he had received straight A's for his first term, as he had expected. However, his new lab instructor, a graduate student who apparently secretly hated Sasuke for some reason, had failed him on every single lab report so far, and since the lab directly affected his overall physics grade, he knew the most he could be averaging was a C at the moment.

This was unacceptable. He had questioned Kabuto the first time he received a lab report with a big red F scrawled across the top, and Kabuto had not explained himself at all, simply smiled and encouraged him to try harder next time. It was infuriating! There were no comments in the paper at all, just that F at the top that made Sasuke suspicious that Kabuto wasn't even reading the paper, just marking it failed as soon as he saw who had written it.

His second thought had been to switch to a different lab section, but the only other one he could fit into his schedule was also led by Kabuto, so that wouldn't be any help. He realized now that as much as it stung, he'd have to go to someone else for help. He couldn't let his stubborn pride mess up his college education. Thinking it over, he had decided that the best option was to go to the very top, and go straight to the head of the physics department to petition for help.

Sasuke left the lab in a huff, hitching his bag on his shoulder and walked with determination to Professor Hebi's office. He might find the man a little odd, a little off-putting, but most brilliant scientists were at least a bit eccentric, and since he planned to declare physics his major next year, there was no point in avoiding members of the department he would most need to know. It wasn't the time for his normal office hours, but Sasuke hoped that he would be around. If not, he planned to email the man to request a meeting, because this had to stop. The other day, Naruto had been able to tell that Sasuke was worried about something, and because he had refused to tell him what the problem was, the blonde probably thought _he_ had done something wrong.

_That'll be over soon. Once I get this fixed, everything will go back to normal for us._

"Hello, there." He was surprised to see Professor Hebi in his office, the door open almost as if he had expected a visitor. He smiled at Sasuke and gestured to a chair. "Come in, Sasuke. Shut the door, if you would."

_He knows my name? I think I met him twice before. He must have some kind of memory._

"Ah…good afternoon professor," Sasuke forced a smile, knowing that people liked it when he smiled and were more likely to do what he wanted. "Or should I call you Dr. Hebi?"

"Nothing so formal." The man smiled, setting aside the papers he'd been perusing and folding his fingers on the desk, leaning forward. "Professor is fine for now, or sir. I know my brilliance without needing people calling me doctor all day to remind me of all the time I spent in school."

"Oh…okay, professor." Sasuke looked down, finding it oddly hard to meet the man's eyes. He seemed friendly, but something about him just rubbed Sasuke the wrong way. The way he smiled seemed almost…inappropriate, but Sasuke knew he must be imagining things.

_It's all those years after Itachi, when I just slept with whoever, to the point where I started to think everyone just wanted sex from me. It's hard to turn that off, I guess._

"What can I do for you today, Sasuke?" the older man tilted his head, his long black hair tumbling over his shoulders, and reminding Sasuke oddly of Neji. He felt himself flush, as an image sprung to his mind unbidden, of Neji ramming into him in that bathroom where Gaara had seen them.

_Why am I thinking weird things? That was ages ago, and besides, the only one I want is Naruto. I thought sex was something different then, and I didn't realize what a difference it would make when there was love there._

"Um, I wanted to speak to you about a problem I'm having with my lab instructor." Sasuke coughed, trying to hide the redness in his cheeks until it faded. Maybe Professor Hebi would just think he was very shy, though. "I've been turning in the same caliber work since the beginning of the year, and my first lab instructor gave me an A, but Kabuto has failed every single lab report I've turned in, even though I know there's nothing wrong with them, and he refuses to explain the reasoning behind the grades."

"You think that Kabuto doesn't like like you?" the professor affected a weird pout that seemed out of place on a man so much older. "That's too bad, I hope for all of my students to get along and be good friends. You're hoping to be a physics major, of course, Sasuke?"

"Yes," Sasuke nodded. "And I would appreciate if you could speak to him for me, because I don't want someone's whim to damage my grades. I want the reports to be re-graded, but properly this time, and I want him to treat me professionally in the future. I have no real problem with him, and I can see he's quite smart, but I can't stay quiet about this when it's affecting me this way."

"I understand your concerns." The professor nodded and rubbed his chin. "I think I could help you, if you would be able to help me out, as well."

"You need my help?" Sasuke was immediately suspicious, although he was rather familiar with the idea that no one was just going to do him a favor unless they saw some benefit to themselves from it. "How do you mean?"

"I've been needing an assistant." The professor explained. "Most of my graduate students are too busy to help with the extra work I need as the head of the department. I can pay you, and the work is not too difficult. Helping prepare labs, typing up lectures, running a few errands…it would be beneficial to you, as well. Being my assistant will be sure to protect you from anything like this happening again, since no one in the department would want to upset me by mistreating my cute little friend." He laughed just then, and Sasuke wasn't sure whether it was meant as a joke or not.

"I…well, I don't need the pay, honestly." Sasuke admitted. "But wouldn't you want someone more experienced?"

"I think you'll do perfectly." The professor smiled. "I like you, Sasuke. I want to help you. Do you not want my help?"

"Of…of course." Sasuke couldn't believe his luck. Assistant to the head of the department? Kabuto would never again dare under-grade him. "I'd be happy to be your assistant."

"Very good." Professor Hebi smiled and stood. "Let me treat you to coffee then, to celebrate your new position."

"Thanks." Sasuke wasn't sure he wanted to go out to coffee with this man, but he knew associating with the head of the department would only help him. He'd just grin and bear it for now. After all, he really did seem to like him.

"From now on, we'll be good friends." His professor smiled. "So in private, I want you to call me Orochimaru."

--

To be continued…


	24. Chapter 24

Everything in Between

Everything in Between

Chapter 24

--

"Hey!" Kankurou was very pleased with himself. No one ever thought he was smart because they saw the way he partied and spent a lot of time just hanging out. Plus, Temari was always there to share embarrassing stories of mistakes he'd made in the past, to the point where he was pretty sure none of his friends really thought of him as someone who was at all clever, but that was their own mistake. He could out-plot Ino any day, if he put his mind to it. And now that he had a goal, he was determined.

_Phase 1: Hinata and Kiba_

"Hello, Kankurou!" Hinata smiled at him brightly as she came up the stairs, finally home from classes. "How are you today?"

"Doing pretty good." He nodded. "You must be feeling nervous, though."

"What do you mean?" Hinata tilted her head, politely blinking at him in her bewilderment.

"Well, I mean, because of the bet." Kankurou snorted, as though this should all be obvious. "I mean, I'm sure it's weird to know everyone's watching you to see if you'll do it or not."

"Do…what?" Hinata was still rather flabbergasted. "I am not sure what you mean. What sort of bet?"

"Oh…you don't know?" Kankurou affected a look of embarrassment. "Oh man…I guess it's probably supposed to be a secret. Dammit…Temari says I never know when to shut up."

"What are you talking about? Did I make some sort of bet? I do not recall…" Hinata tapped her lips in confusion.

"Well…I really shouldn't tell you, cause I guess it was supposed to be secret, but I don't know…I mean, it is about you." Kankurou rubbed his chin, looking uncomfortable. "I don't know if it's fair to just trick you like that…but Kiba will probably get pissed if I tell."

"Kiba?" Hinata frowned, still confused by all this. "Did Kiba make a bet? I do not know what you are talking about at all, I am sorry to say."

"Well…I guess I should tell you. He made a bet that he'd have sex with you by Valentine's Day." Kankurou explained as hesitantly as he could. "I'm sure he didn't mean anything bad by it. Didn't he tell you that's what he wanted to do?"

"I…he made a bet…about that?" Hinata's face was pale, her mouth slightly ajar and her eyes wide.

"I'm sure he was gonna buy you something if he won." Kankurou shrugged, and he watched her lip quiver slightly, her eyes filling with moisture. It wasn't that he _wanted_ to hurt his friends. This was for their own good. They were way too into each other.

"I…thank you, I have to go." Hinata rushed past him, and Kankurou followed to verify his hopes had come to fruition. She went to her room, not Kiba's.

Kankurou felt heady from the unexpected success, but knew that he couldn't become overconfident. Kiba and Hinata were easy, since they were still such a new couple and had so many insecurities between the two of them. However, while he felt rather sure that Hinata, who hated confrontations, would not speak to him directly about the fabrication that had just occurred, he knew that Kiba would probably want to speak to her, and he would have to stop that, to ensure that his work wasn't wasted. He strode down the hallway, having already planned his next move in this game to secure the only variable in the situation. He knocked on the door and waited.

"Go away!" he was not deterred by the surly, sleepy voice from within the room, and simply knocked again. He could hear shuffling noises and the noises of what was probably a short struggle between the two occupants over whether or not to acknowledge their visitor.

"Hello?" as he had expected, Naruto won the battle, opening the door wearing a silk robe that made Kankurou briefly marvel at the thought that he had ever doubted Naruto could be gay. His hair was a mess, and the robe was being swiftly closed over his nearly nude form. Kankurou couldn't have asked for anything better for his plan.

"Naruto, thank god, you have to come with me." He pulled the blonde out of the room and closed the door on Sasuke's muffled protests. "It's Hinata, she's really upset and she won't speak to anyone."

"Kankurou, you can't—wait, what?" Naruto was a sucker for the needs of his friends. Piece of cake. "What's wrong with Hinata? Where's Kiba?"

"No, that's the problem!" Kankurou hissed, leading the blonde down the hall quickly. "See, Kankurou kind of bet us that he could hook up with Hinata by Saturday, and I accidentally told her, and now she's like freaking out and closed herself up in her room."

"Kiba did what?" Naruto pulled an incredulous face. "He wouldn't…well, lemme see if I can calm her down, we can deal with Kiba later."

"Sure can." Kankurou nodded, as Naruto knocked on Hinata's door, and when he received no response, nodded at Kankurou, heaved a sigh and let himself. Kankurou caught the door just as it was closing, peering in through the tiny crack he had left himself and pulling out his camera, licking his lips as he felt his adrenaline pump.

_Come on, you're practically naked. Give me something good._

"Hinata?" Naruto's voice was soft, gentle, and full of concern. Kankurou guessed the shuddering lump of blankets he was heading towards was probably the girl in question. Naruto sat on the edge of the bed, reaching over to what might have been a shoulder, or really anything.

_Get her out where we can see! I don't have an x-ray attachment on this thing!_

"I…I don't feel well." Came the thick-voiced reply. Kankurou would feel worse about making Hinata cry, but this was all for the greater good! Plus, girls cried all the time. Well, not Temari, but she hardly counted as a girl. "Please go away."

"Hinata, come on," Naruto turned toward her even more, causing his robe to slip open, baring his chest and showing a hint of his underwear. Kankurou poised his camera, ready for the perfect shot to present itself. "I'm sure he didn't mean it. You know sometimes Kankurou is a little insensitive. I'm sure it sounded much worse than it really is."

"You knew?" Hinata let out a loud sob, and Kankurou nearly danced in place as she turned to try and push Naruto away, but they ended up struggling, until she was pulled into a tight hug. He took a picture, but stuck around in case things got better. "Stop…I'm very upset."

"I just heard, okay?" Naruto told her, and she seemed to relax into his embrace. "And honestly, I have my doubts. Do you really think Kiba would do something like that?"

"I…well, but why would Kankurou make it up?" Hinata sniffled, and she pulled away slightly, Naruto brushing away a tear and kissing her forehead. "What would he have to gain?"

"I'm not saying he made it up…maybe it's just a misunderstanding." Naruto suggested, and Hinata blinked at him, sighing slightly, and Kankurou worried for a moment that this tactic would backfire on him.

"You are very sweet," she told him. "But…I must think this over on my own. Of course you would try to help him, even if you knew he did something like this. You always want to help your friends, and sometimes…I do not think I want to see Kiba right now, or you. I want to be alone, if that is alright."

"Hinata, I really think—"

"Please." Her voice became slightly shrill, and Naruto looked a bit shocked. "Please…just go."

"I really didn't know." He told her, standing and straightening his robe.

"Go." Her voice was quiet and cold, and it was suddenly very clear that she was related to Neji. Kankurou snuck away before Naruto could catch him. He'd already gotten plenty of great shots to leave for Kiba, anyway.

_Excellent. Phase 1: Complete._

_Now then…who's next?_

Part of him was tempted to use the shots of Hinata and Naruto to try and create a rift between Naruto and Sasuke, but he had a shrewd suspicion that Sasuke would not be threatened by Hinata, despite knowing that she'd had a crush on Naruto. Maybe with Sakura…if he could get them together somehow…

But then something much better struck him.

_Two birds with one stone…hmm, but it could be tough. I think I'll save them for later._

Naruto and Sasuke were too close, too established, and too completely obviously devoted to each other to break apart quite as easily as Hinata and Kiba. His techniques would require some fine-tuning, and if he really wanted to make his plan work, it would take a lot of skill and a little luck.

For now…he'd settle for something a little easier.

Something a little more volatile.

--

"Assistant, huh?" Naruto had been surprised when Sasuke had returned home after him that day, and had just asked about his lover's delayed homecoming. "To the head of the department? That's gotta be some kind of honor, right? Professor Kaeru has an assistant, I think. This really hot grad student. She's got like—" Naruto held out his hands to indicate the chest of the assistant in question, before his face lit up and he shook an accusatory finger at Sasuke. "Oh, maybe that's it! You _are_ pretty hot. This Hebi guy's got it in for you."

"Ha ha." Sasuke rolled his eyes, tossing aside his hat and avoiding the urge to fix his hat-hair when he saw Naruto's eyes glaze over. For some reason, the blonde seemed to find messed up hair a giant turn on. This went against all of Sasuke's instincts to make his hair perfect every moment. Love was full of compromise. "So, you really think I'm pretty hot?" he gave Naruto a predatory smile, and walked toward the bed where he was sitting, Sasuke's laptop open in his lap.

"Mmm…I'd say like maybe on a scale from one to ten…you're about a six…six point five, maybe." Naruto gave a fake yawn, folding up the laptop, which Sasuke set aside much more harshly than the blonde would have. "Hey, be careful! I've got pictures on there."

"I can be rough with it if I want, it belongs to me." Sasuke climbed over him, his face so close he could practically taste Naruto's breath. "When I buy you one, you can coddle it all you want."

"Sasuke! You can't buy me a laptop, I said—" he gasped as Sasuke grabbed his shoulders and ground against him.

"Let me treat you nice." He breathed, finding it hard to hold in the amazing desire he felt to be with Naruto. For some reason, things that Orochimaru said to him or ways he would look…Sasuke knew he wasn't attracted to that man, but he'd spent the last three hours feeling an incredible insatiable desire. And now that he was with Naruto, he could sate that hunger. "You belong to me too, don't you?"

"As long as you don't toss me around like your poor computer." Naruto's voice was barely more than a whisper, wavering as Sasuke laid siege to his neck, shoving his hand down Naruto's pants.

"I want to fuck you right now." Sasuke's voice was raw, husky, and even though Naruto wanted to talk about his worries about Hinata, who was still hiding away from everyone since yesterday, even though he really _did _want to hear about how Sasuke had gotten this job as assistant to the head of his department, and talk about how his day had been…even though he desperately needed to do his homework, he knew that it was pointless to resist Sasuke at this moment.

And why would he really want to?

--

Kankurou looked at his list thoughtfully. He'd crossed off Kiba and Hinata, since those two were taken care of, and also Shino and Tenten, since he'd decided that they were not worth it. The only thing he had been able to think of for those two had involved killing Shino's bugs, and he was a little too worried that he would get killed either by the bugs, or, if he was ever found out, by Shino. Plus, Shino and Tenten could at least come up for air every once in a while, and they were sort of weird anyway. Well…mostly Shino was. Kankurou wasn't really desperate to have him at all his parties. Tenten was going to have to be considered an acceptable loss.

Gaara and Neji he was saving for later. He still remembered the last time he'd gotten in any way involved in their relationship, and he had learned from that time that Neji could hit very hard. He also knew all about Gaara's ability to hit people, and that, combined with the fact that they were, as far as he knew, the oldest couple, meant that he would not have an easy time cracking them. He thought Temari might have helped him at one point…but she actually seemed to _like_ Neji now. Now, to be fair, Kankurou liked him too, but he could have done with an ally, and Temari had an undeniable understanding of interpersonal relationships that would have been a valued asset, but so far, he felt that what he'd absorbed from all the crappy girl movies and soap operas and stuff she'd forced him to sit through was getting him through things pretty well. Shikamaru and Ino…he thought he had a pretty good idea for that pair, but he knew probably the easiest break-up at this point would be Sakura and Sai. She was pretty high-maintenance and sensitive, he was socially inept and blunt…it was amazing it hadn't already messed up before. But then, they'd really only been together a month or so.

"Hey," Kankurou shoved the list under his pillow as soon as Kiba shuffled in, looking just as dejected now as he had that morning. Last night, he'd been apoplectic when Kankurou showed him the pictures, but he had been able to restrain his friend from going on a murdering spree that included…well, pretty much he had wanted to just kill Naruto, but Kankurou had been able to talk him down, and told him that he was going to talk to Sasuke later, and Naruto would probably die then, in any case. Of course, he hadn't, but Kiba was now so deep in depression that he hadn't really taken note in the lack of death taking place on their floor.

"Hey man, what's up?" Kankurou loved his broken up friends. They hung out with him, even if they were currently a bit depressed. They'd get over that, and then things would be awesome again.

"Eh," Kiba shrugged. "I had to get out of there…Shikamaru and Ino…snuggling."

"Well, if it makes you feel better, I'm pretty sure she's probably cheating on him, too." Kankurou told him, and Kiba nodded knowingly.

"Damn women." Kiba grumbled. "Do you have booze?"

"Yeah, drown your sorrows, man." Kankurou got up and pulled out a bottle, handing it to Kiba, who sat on the ground against Sai's bed and took a deep swig, sighing mournfully. "You know, maybe we should have a party. That'd make you feel better, right?"

"Ugh." Kiba sighed again, taking another deep swig.

"Hello, I am—oh, hello Kiba." Sai smiled at their guest as he entered the room. "I see you are still upset."

"Come on, man, be a little bit supportive, he's freaking heart broken." Kankurou pointed out. "How would you feel if Sakura was getting it from Naruto behind your back?"

"Getting what?" Sai asked, and Kankurou realized that Sai might actually be more difficult, just because of his unbelievable inability to grasp the obvious.

"She probably is." Kiba told him, his tone sorrowful. "Fucking women."

"Dude, I mean like if Naruto and her were having sex." Kankurou was quick to see he had forged an ally in Kiba, even if he was a bit drunk and depressing. "Wouldn't that piss you off?"

"Why would Sakura have sex with Naruto?" Sai asked, frowning, as though he was almost starting to understand where this was going, and sensing that it wasn't somewhere good.

"Because…sheeza damn cocktease whore." Kiba slurred, and Kankurou eyed the bottle he was holding, trying to gauge how long he could handle it before he would be in alcohol poisoning territory. "Thas…thas what they do. They string ya along…an' jus' take it when they want from whoever they feel like…"

"Sakura would not…she would not do such things." Sai maintained. "We are in a caring, monogamous relationship."

"Yeah, well, Hinata was screwing around behind his back." Kankurou pointed out. "Plus, don't know? The only reason she's dating you is cause she couldn't get Sasuke, and you look so much like him. I mean, I bet if you _did_ do it, she'd call you Sasuke, she's still completely hot for him."

"Yeah…an' jus' cuz he's gay, don' think yer safe." Kiba drained the bottle, and Kankurou realized that when he wanted to, Kiba could drink a lot in a very short time. "I thought…thought I was okay. Guy she had a crush on off fuckin' another guy, an' then…then thas not enough, he's gotta steal her from me, too." Kiba let out a sob, and Kankurou hoped this depression stage would end very soon.

"She'd dump you in a heartbeat if she had a chance with Sasuke." Kankurou nodded. "Sad but true."

"I do not appreciate your accusations." Sai's cheeks had reddened, and the rest of his face was very pale, and Kankurou realized that he had actually made Sai angry.

_Phase 2: Moving along smoothly._

"Hey…ask her yourself." Kankurou shrugged, looking away as though he didn't care one way or the other. "If you think she'll actually tell the truth."

"Why would she ever lie?" Sai frowned, his voice wavering, and Kankurou knew he had him.

"Because, she'd rather have at least you then be alone." Kankurou explained. "You can ask her, and she'll tell you it's your imagination, or like you don't look like him at all, or that she's really starting to fall in love or some bullshit. But the truth is, she's just waiting for something better, and right now, she's just settling for you because you're better than nothing."

"An'…sheeza whore." Kiba hiccupped slightly and shook his head, as if to clear the alcohol from it.

"I do not…" Sai clenched his fists tightly, closed his eyes, and began mouthing something quietly, his fists clenching over and over as his lips moved.

"And you know, Sasuke's totally leading her on, is what you don't know." Kankurou was struck by sudden inspiration. "See, guys like that can never settle just for being with one person, they want everyone to be in love with them. You're so busy being blinded by Sakura's act, you can't see the way he's sending her signals, keeping her interest on him, so she can never really focus on you, even if she _did_ want to."

"I can't—" Sai's entire body trembled, and Kankurou thought for a moment he was going to have some odd seizure, but he turned and ran out of the room. Kankurou wasn't quite sure what was going to happen next, so he decided to leave Kiba glaring at his empty bottle and follow his current target until the mission had been accomplished.

"Sai!" Sakura caught her boyfriend storming down the hall. "What's up? You look…weird."

"Do I?" Sai's voice shook, and Kankurou felt as though, for a moment, he might actually hit _her_. "What do I look like? Or should I ask, who?"

"You…what do you mean?" Sakura smiled, laughing nervously, reaching out to touch his face, and starting when he pulled away. "You look upset, is all."

"Sakura, you were nice to me, but you did not ever flirt, that I noticed." Sai's voice had a dangerous quality to it. "Suddenly, you agree to date me, but with no indication as to why. What could you be thinking?"

"I guess I thought you were sweet, and that I should just get over Sasuke and move on already." Sakura told him, stepping forward, but he stepped back at once.

"Get over him, you say." Sai's voice rose. "Or did you intend to find a suitable replacement? Am I your substitute?"

"Sai…what are you saying? You're nothing like Sasuke!" she was clearly annoyed at this point.

"Aha! Just as you say! Or am I?" Sai pointed an accusing finger at her. "Am I _just_ like Sasuke?"

"What are you even talking about?" she cried out. "Are you drunk or something?"

"Would you two fucking keep it down!" Sasuke stormed out into the hall, and Kankurou noticed he was wearing the same robe that Naruto had worn yesterday. "Some people are trying to study!"

"You! You!" Sai ran forward, lunged at Sasuke, punched him, and was very promptly knocked out by a kick to the gut and an elbow thrust to the back of his neck. He fell in a heap.

"Damn people…trying to study." Sasuke patted his cheek as though concerned he might bruise, rolled his eyes at Sakura and went back into his room. Kankurou had to repress the urge to cackle as Sakura stepped towards the prone form of Sai, muttered something under her breath, turned on her heel and stomped away, slamming her own door.

"Good one, Sai," Kankurou went over to retrieve his friend, who blinked at him groggily. "You are a piss poor fighter."

"Did I win?" Sai asked, and Kankurou only laughed, escorting him back to their room with a feeling of triumph. His room was his own again.

_Phase 2: Complete._

"Let's get you some booze, you and Kiba can chill together." Kankurou deposited his roommate on his floor and dug out another bottle for them to share, despite his doubts about Kiba needing any more than he'd already had.

"A _whore_." He toasted with his empty bottle, and Kankurou sat on his bed, feeling that the world was finally starting to see things his way once more.

--

To be continued…


	25. Chapter 25

Everything in Between

Everything in Between

Chapter 25

--

"So, Valentine's Day this weekend." Kankurou stood next to Sasuke, who was waiting for Naruto to make him tea in the café while his eyes sat fixed on the blonde's rear. "You two doing something special?"

"What?" Sasuke frowned, and then looked thoughtful. "Am I supposed to?"

"Um, well, yeah." Kankurou couldn't help laughing slightly. "I mean, it's fucking _Valentine's Day._ Do you want no sex for like a month? They get pissed if you don't do anything."

"Naruto isn't a woman." Sasuke hissed, turning away for a bit so that Naruto might not overhear the conversation. His face looked a bit concerned, though. "Do you think he expects me to do something?"

"Well, if you guys are supposed to be in love, that's the day for it." Kankurou pointed out, pulling Sasuke further away from the counter, towards his goal. "You're telling me you've got _nothing_ planned?"

"I can do something, I guess." Sasuke looked like he might break out in a cold sweat, and in his sudden state of unbalance, he allowed himself to be pulled further away from Naruto, toward the far end of the café.

"Well, it should be something that means a lot." Kankurou paused and did his best to look thoughtful, before snapping his fingers as though catching onto a grand idea. "You know, the other day he was telling me that he hates that you guys have never gone on like, a double date with Neji and Gaara, you know, like a big gay party kind of thing. You know how Naruto likes parties."

"Uh…yeah." Sasuke looked extremely wary. "But I don't really think…"

"You should see if they'd want…oh look! There's Neji! You should talk to him." Kankurou pushed him toward a booth with a single occupant. "It would mean so much to Naruto just to see you two speaking to each other again."

"But…wouldn't he suspect something?" Sasuke frowned.

"He might, but that's part of the excitement for him! He knows you're planning something, he doesn't know what. It'll be awesome, trust me. Oh, I'll grab your tea for you, go ahead."

"I don't…" Sasuke scowled as he was left only a foot from Neji, who looked up at him with one arched brow, as though trying to predict whether or not this would be a normal encounter or one that involved a lot of punching. Sasuke knew how much Naruto cared about all his friends, and when he really paused to think about it, they never really did get to spend any time with Neji or Gaara, since the two typically came together, and ever since their little tryst, Sasuke did not want to come anywhere near Neji. He knew that must be torturing Naruto, who would never say anything, always sacrificing his wants for Sasuke's comfort. Not this time. This time he'd make it up to the blonde. "Hyuuga."

"Hey Sasuke." Neji smiled in a way that made Sasuke want to punch him. Instead, he sat down across from him. "You want something? I'm sorry to say, I can't serve up the regular, considering Gaara, and all."

"Would you stop being a snarky pain in the ass for ten seconds?" Sasuke snapped, accepting his tea from Kankurou. "Look, do you have anything planned with Gaara for Valentine's Day?"

"Wait, which day is that?" Neji dug through his bag, pulling out a planner. "Saturday…let me see…Saturday we're going to…have sex."

"Don't you think he's expecting something more than that?" Sasuke pointed out. "Think about it, he's never had a boyfriend before, he's probably never even gotten a damn Valentine, you know how rough it was for him."

"You…you know about that?" Neji narrowed his eyes, leaning forward with interest.

"You may have met Naruto. I sleep with him. He knows everyone's business." Sasuke shook his head in slight annoyance. "I know about your old whoring ways, by the by."

"Gaara knows about that." Neji answered defensively. "So don't try to—"

"Please, I'm not here to issue petty threats." Sasuke snorted. "I'm here because I know it would mean a lot to Naruto if we did something…all together. We could just go to dinner or something, nothing too tedious."

"What's in it for me?" Neji asked. "Gaara will sleep with me whether I take him out to dinner or not, trust me."

"Whatever." Sasuke rolled his eyes. "But I bet he misses being able to be around Naruto, and he needs all the friends he can get. Do you not want him to hang out with Naruto if he wants to?"

"Naruto is a good friend, I wouldn't have a problem with that." Neji rubbed his chin as he thought this over. He honestly had no problem with either Sasuke or Naruto, but ever since he had used Sasuke as part of his scheme to win Gaara, he had only really seen either of them in passing, since he knew that Sasuke was annoyed with him, and assumed from the punch in the face he'd received that Naruto was, as well. "Would he even want me there? He seemed to take our little rendezvous rather seriously."

"You know Naruto, he can't stay mad at his friends, no matter what dumbass thing they decide to do." Sasuke returned, "So?"

"Okay." Neji answered after a while. He wanted to be annoyed at Sasuke's words, but in truth, it had been rather stupid of him, and he'd caused more trouble than anything else that any of his friends had done so far that year. "Fine, it sounds fine. Do you know where we should go? Are we sharing a car? If so, I'm driving."

"We can figure all that out later." Sasuke told him. "I have to go now, but we should plan out the details as soon as possible. I'm coming back to the house around seven, think you can get away from your love nest?"

"I should ask you the same." Neji sneered, but then coughed, remembering they were supposed to be making nice. "Yes, fine, I can come by your room, unless he'll be there. I assume this is some surprise sort of thing?"

"I suppose that would be best." Sasuke nodded, getting up. "Later."

--

"Hey, Naruto." Kankurou grabbed the drink when Naruto placed it on the counter, looking around in confusion for his lover. "Why's Sasuke over there with Neji? I thought they like, hated each other ever since all that messing around together stuff ended with a bunch of fighting." He pointed, and had the great satisfaction of watching Naruto's face go very pale.

_Jackpot. I knew he couldn't be over that._

"Oh…I don't know…I guess they're friends again or something." Naruto frowned, and Kankurou nodded knowingly.

"I'll go drop this off, see what's happening. They'll probably just ignore me, but if you go over…"

"Oh…sure, that's fine. I should work, anyway." Naruto told him, but he was letting Lee handle customers by himself while he stared at the pair across the café with clear suspicion in his face. Everything was going surprisingly well. Kankurou went across the café, handed off Neji's drink, and came back, doing his best to look nervous and uncomfortable.

"What?" Naruto demanded as soon as he got back.

"Well…I don't know, maybe I misheard." Kankurou shrugged and gave a weak laugh, noting with triumph the flames dancing in Naruto's eyes.

_Wow, who knew he could get this pissed? He's such a laid back guy most of the time._

"What did you hear?" Naruto looked like if Kankurou didn't spit it out, he'd shake it out of him, and Kankurou decided not to hold out too much.

"Well…okay." Kankurou sighed. "But honestly, I probably just misunderstood."

"Well?!" Naruto hissed, clearly nearly frantic at this point.

"They were talking about…well, they were saying that you were working late, so they could…well, I must have heard wrong. They were going to meet somewhere, and it _sounded_ like it was like…like they were going to meet somewhere private and…well, it couldn't have really been. I mean, Sasuke and you are like, way into each other. No way he's cheating on you." Kankurou insisted. "I think I just misunderstood."

"Oh yeah?" Naruto was fuming, clearly not very happy.

"Well, yeah, it couldn't have been that!" Kankurou insisted, laughing. "Plus, Neji's with Gaara, and I mean, okay, I did hear that Neji used to sleep around a lot, but I'm sure he's gotten past that. But Sasuke's never been with anyone before you, really, right?"

"No…he's been with a lot of people." Naruto grumbled. "Even…well, it doesn't matter. I'm sure I'm just…overreacting. If Sasuke was cheating on me with Neji, he wouldn't be dumb enough to meet him right where I can see."

"Oh yeah, for sure." Kankurou agreed at once. "And he hasn't been acting weird, right?"

"No, he's been…actually, he's been like, really into sex, like way more than usual." Naruto told him. "And I mean, he's been away a lot more, since he's got that new job."

"Really into it? Well, sometimes guys will try to throw girls off the scent like that, but I'm sure that's not the case." Kankurou nodded confidently. "And he has a job now? I thought he was rich."

"Well, he isn't getting paid." Naruto explained. "He's assistant to the head of his department."

"He isn't getting paid for _that_?" Kankurou shrugged. "And they wanted a freshman who hasn't even declared? Doesn't that seem a little weird?"

"Well…I don't know. But I'm sure it's nothing…nothing like that. Just…coincidence" Naruto looked as though he was trying to avoid a panic attack, and Kankurou knew it wouldn't be too hard to push him over the edge.

"It's a good thing you trust him like that." Kankurou nodded with a look of admiration on his face. "I mean, if I was with a girl who used to fuck around like that…well, I wouldn't ever want her near him, but that's me. You guys must really have some kind of thing going on. But I'm sure he's let you do that kind of stuff with him, though. I mean, if Sasuke let Neji do him like right in that bathroom, I'm sure you guys do that sort of stuff all the time."

"Well…I mean, it's different for us." Naruto flushed deeply, and Kankurou nodded in understanding. "He wouldn't…I mean, he doesn't want anyone to see."

"Oh…well, that's weird. You'd think that it would be hard for him to control himself around you." Kankurou frowned and tapped his lips considerately. "I thought you said he's like, all over you? But he never tries anything unless you're in private? Well, I mean, maybe it's harder when you're just like, in lust with someone."

"It's not…Sasuke's not…not in _anything_ with him." Naruto huffed and went away in a hurry, going to clean dishes, slamming them about unnecessarily. Kankurou figured that was enough for now, and that he could leave it at that. Besides, he had to go talk to his brother.

--

Gaara paused on his way into the café, feeling like he must be seeing things. Sasuke and Neji talking at a table, leaning towards each other as though sharing secrets…Neji smiling, and then Sasuke left, waving to Neji, and Gaara blinked, coming back to himself. He watched Sasuke head out another door, and he pushed open the one he was standing at, striding over to talk to Neji.

"Hey man," Kankurou intercepted him. "I wouldn't go over there right now." He ushered his brother back out of the café while Gaara scowled at him in disapproval. "Something bad's going down."

"What are you talking about?" Gaara glanced over his shoulder, and wondered if Neji even remembered they were supposed to be meeting, or what was going on. Why would he talk to Sasuke? Were they supposed to suddenly get along again? Sasuke had completely refused to even speak to Neji after Gaara and Neji got together. Naruto had told him it was because Sasuke had felt used. Gaara thought maybe Sasuke was just jealous and annoyed that Neji had cast him aside so easily. That seemed much more likely.

"I don't know if I want to tell you, cause like last time, you kicked the crap out of Neji." Kankurou told him, sounding a bit worried. "And I mean, yeah, he shouldn't be sneaking around behind your back, but still, Temari'll get pissed if I let you just wail on him."

"What," Gaara turned, grabbing Kankurou's throat and shoving him against the wall, "are you talking about?"

"Sasuke and Neji keep meeting in secret." Kankurou explained. "I just found out myself, but you have to promise not to kill anyone."

"Have they," Gaara found that it was suddenly very difficult to breathe for some reason. "Are they…"

"Fucking? I don't know." Kankurou gasped for breath as Gaara released him, staring at the wall blankly and blinking at it as though there were answers on it to all of his problems.

"Meeting in secret." Gaara said the words in the tone of someone repeating a password or a mantra, as though the words were an incantation that had no real meaning to him. "Meeting in secret." He repeated. Kankurou gulped as he saw Gaara's hands clench into fists and unclench, and began to wonder, not for the first time, if this entire scheme was too dangerous, or if he would end up regretting it. "Meeting in secret."

"It could be nothing." Kankurou told him, a little concerned about his culpability if Gaara were to go and murder Sasuke right then. "Maybe they're like, planning a surprise for you, or something, or they have a class together."

"Meeting in secret." Gaara breathed the words one last time before looking up at Kankurou, blinking at him with a solemn expression on his face. "Thank you, Kankurou."

"Are you…are you going to do anything?" Kankurou couldn't help asking.

"I…don't know." Gaara told him, nodding slightly before turning very slowly and walking away, not even going into the café to talk to Neji, who Kankurou expected was probably waiting for him.

For the first time, Kankurou doubted himself. Was this worth it? Would his friends figure out what he had done to them and lynch him? Or would it work out the way he imagined, with everyone settling back into being just friends, not even wanting to date anymore, now that they'd had so much trouble?

_I'm pretty sure it'll all work out. My plans are awesome._

But for now, he thought he could leave the boys alone and strike out on the final couple left on his list. He'd already brought Gaara and Naruto to such a point of suspicion and paranoia, and put Neji and Sasuke unwittingly in the position to perpetuate those feelings, that he felt he could leave that one on auto-pilot. However, now he had to deal with Shikamaru and Ino, and for this one…he'd get a little help.

Even if Temari didn't really know what she was doing.

--

Naruto felt a little nauseous the whole way home, and he wondered if he was getting a cold or if he was just worrying too much. It was stupid. Of course he trusted Sasuke. If Sasuke was spending time with Neji…that was nothing to worry about. They were in a committed relationship, and they loved each other. Sasuke would have no reason to turn to Neji for…anything. Hadn't he said he'd rather have one kiss from Naruto than sleep with Neji one hundred times? And the same went for Neji. He was devoted to Gaara, as Gaara was to him, and Neji would never turn his back on his lover. And while Naruto found he had a hard time trusting Neji after the tactics he had used to win Gaara over…well, he trusted Ino now, even after what had happened with her "advice," so there was really no reason he should hold onto this jealousy. After all, Sasuke had told him that he'd slept with a lot of men, and that none of them had ever meant anything to him, really. Honestly, if he was going to be jealous of anyone, it should be Itachi…but knowing how completely Sasuke's opinion of his brother had changed since his youth prevented him from really feeling jealous of him. In fact, if anything, he should be happy to see that they were starting to reconcile.

But when he came upstairs and saw his bedroom door opening from the stairwell…for some reason he stayed behind the stairwell door, peering through the window, his heart beating so loud he thought anyone else in the stairwell would be able to hear, his teeth worrying his lower lip as his worst fear came true, and he saw Neji's unmistakable form leaving the room. After a moment, Sasuke came to the door as well, and they spoke together about something, their faces intent and very close, their voices far too quiet for Naruto to even hope to hear where he was standing. Neji said something and Sasuke actually laughed, and somehow, that was the worst part of all. He could hear the sound, usually so musical to him, like a knife twisting in his heart, and he pulled away from the window, leaning against the wall and sliding down it to the ground, sitting there trying to regain his calm, trying to make sense of everything, trying to tell himself that it made no sense to be jealous, trying to remember those words that Sasuke had said to him before that had seemed so reassuring to him a moment ago…why weren't they working now?

_I need to breathe…why is it so hard? Why is the only thing I can see…them together?_

What he had just seen, and the things he'd been told about meshed together in his mind's eye, and he felt he had an inkling of how Gaara had felt that night he'd walked in on them in the bathroom.

_He said he loved me…but he used to love Itachi too, and look how he feels about him now. And what Kankurou said…why is it that he can control himself around me, and just couldn't around Neji…doing something like that right in a public bathroom where anyone could walk in on him…he's never done anything so crazy with me._

_What does that mean?_

Naruto finally regained the power to stand, and on shaky feet, he shuffled into the hallway, down to his bedroom, and opened the door. He couldn't help wondering if he'd come home from work early, what he might have seen when he had done this. Now, everything seemed normal. The bed was made neatly, Sasuke was studying, and when he entered the room, his lover looked up from his book with a hungry expression, pushing the book aside and pulling him into their bed.

"Finally, I thought you'd never get home." Sasuke seemed just as insatiable as he'd been for the last few days, his lips and hands moving desperately over Naruto's skin.

"Sasuke," Naruto couldn't help it…he had to ask. "Do you…do you have anything you want to tell me?"

"What?" Sasuke looked up from where he'd been pressing kisses to Naruto's neck. "I love you." He attempted.

"No…I meant, like maybe you've been meaning to tell me something…something I should know." Naruto prompted and Sasuke blinked at him in confusion.

"I can't think of anything." Sasuke told him. "Is this a game or something?"

"You've been gone so much lately." Naruto told him, and Sasuke shrugged slightly.

"I'm sorry, I told you about my job." He explained. "I can ask for less hours if you want."

"Right, your job. That you don't get paid for." Naruto frowned, and Sasuke flopped down on his back, sighing heavily.

"I'm rich, I don't need pay, but he said if I wanted he would." Sasuke told him. "If you want me to get paid, I can."

"What was Neji doing in here with you?" he asked after a long silence, and Sasuke stood up, making a slightly annoyed noise.

"What does it matter? I love _you_." Sasuke told him, and Naruto felt like it was almost an admission of his fears.

"Do you really even have a job, or are you just running around behind my back with Neji, using that as a cover?" he asked, his voice cracking slightly.

"What the hell?" Sasuke threw up his hands. "What the hell are you talking about? Are you out of your damn mind? You think I'm cheating on you? Honestly, after everything we've been through, you think that?"

"Are you?" Naruto demanded, and Sasuke gave him a look so full of fury, he thought for a moment that he was going to be throttled by his lover, but instead, the dark-haired man spun on his heel and rushed out of the room, slamming the door behind him, without giving any answer.

Naruto fell back on the bed, burying his face in Sasuke's pillow, and letting the tears flow.

--

Gaara stood in his room for a long time, looking at the bed he shared with Neji, looking at the way his belongings and Neji's belongings were intermingled on the nightstand, on the dresser. In the hamper, his clothes and Neji's clothes were mixed as well, and as he looked around the room, it took some time to decide which things were his, which things were Neji, who had placed them where they were, who had picked out which things they had bought since he'd arrived.

Everything in this room…it was not his, it was not Neji's. It was theirs.

It hurt to look at. He had the image of Neji fucking Sasuke burned in the back of his mind, that scene he had walked in on months ago, before they had actually been together, and it came up now, on their bed, against the dresser, in the closet doorway, right on the ground. Everywhere he had been with Neji…had Sasuke been there first? Neji told him they only did it twice, and that Neji had used it only as a means to get Gaara, to draw out his passions into the open. But maybe…maybe when he'd been staying with Temari…it would have been easy for them to use the room for whatever they wanted.

Maybe sometimes…they still did.

"Meeting in secret." Gaara breathed, reaching out, touching the lamp, caressing the steel body, recalling all the times Neji or he had switched the lamp on after sex, seeing the way that Neji's body would look by the light, remembering drinking in the sight of his lover as he fell asleep, or watching him as he twisted his hair into a messy ponytail and sat up studying, still nearly naked, sometimes reading from his books to Gaara, wanting to discuss this piece of literature or that. He wondered if Neji realized that sometimes, while he slept, Gaara would read those books, so that he could see all the things that Neji loved, and be able to speak with him at length about any of them.

He wondered if Sasuke spoke to him about such things…he wondered if Neji had meant it when he said he loved him, or if, in truth, he'd actually told every one of his lovers those words, despite the fact that he'd sworn to Gaara he was the only one he'd ever loved, the only one he'd ever said the words to.

_I gave him everything, I told him all of my secrets._

_But I knew, after he learned what I was capable of, he could never really feel the same way. No matter what he said, I knew telling him about everything…telling him about my uncle…I knew that would be the end. But when he said he didn't care, when he said he loved me…I wanted to believe him so badly._

He wanted to be angry. He could picture himself picking up the lamp, smashing it into Neji's face, smashing it into all of their things, smashing it into Sasuke's face. But…somehow, as though the act of loving someone had completely drained him of his ability to unleash the violence he'd always found came so naturally, somehow…

He let go of the lamp, and turned out of the room, leaving behind everything. None of it was really his, anyway. He needed to be away from all of it, and to think. He needed to know the truth.

_I could ask him…but why would he tell the truth, if he's been lying to me this whole time?_

He walked down the hall, not sure what he was going to do at first, but feeling that if he asked Sasuke, he would hear the truth. He felt somehow that Sasuke, who had been so cold with his other friends, would have no problem telling Gaara that he'd been sleeping with Neji behind his back, and would likely take an odd pleasure in it. Gaara wondered if it was a good idea to confront someone he so wanted to bludgeon with his fists, but found he couldn't stop himself knocking on the door, and was slightly surprised when Naruto answered, his face blotchy, the door only barely held open, as though afraid of who might be there.

"Hello." Gaara greeted, trying to find more words, but he wasn't sure if it was okay to ask after Sasuke when Naruto was in such a state of disarray. "Are you okay?" he settled for that, feeling that was probably what you said when your friends looked upset.

"Do you…do you want to come in?" Naruto scrubbed at one eye and held the door open, and Gaara found himself walking in, feeling there was no reason not to speak to this friend of his, the one who always ran to comfort others when they were hurting. He was probably the worst qualified to comfort him in return, but he would do his best. "So…did you hear?"

"Sasuke and Neji?" Gaara was not always the swiftest in social situations, but since he felt about the way Naruto looked, and since they were in very similar positions, it all made sense to him, and he was able to quickly figure out that it all must be true, after all. "How long?"

"Who knows?" Naruto sighed and flopped down on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. "I feel…I feel like such an idiot."

"Yes." Gaara could not help agreeing, pacing the room and clenching his fists over and over, feeling helpless, feeling agitated, feeling mournful, and not knowing what he should do with those feelings.

"Stop that," Naruto sighed, rolling on his side, "come here, then." Naruto held out his arms, gesturing for Gaara to join him on the bed. Gaara was so grateful to be told what to do with himself, he immediately obliged, climbing next to Naruto and laying down, feeling an odd memory of his uncle doing something similar once, but the similarity ended there. Naruto wrapped his arms around Gaara, but instead of doing anything sexual, he let out a deep breath, closed his eyes, and gently pulled Gaara's head against his chest, his fingers rubbing his scalp in a calming manner. And even though Gaara usually hated having people touch him unless it was Neji…somehow, this felt very nice, and everything suddenly didn't seem quite so horrible.

"I want to kill him, but I know I won't." Gaara felt the thought escape his mouth like a little bubble of air floating out of the depths of his despair. "I'll just let him go."

"Don't be so sad," Naruto told him, but he could hear the tears in the other man's voice. "It's not the end of the world."

"What should I be?" Gaara wanted to know, and Naruto let out a noise halfway between a laugh and a sob. "Is it okay if I stay here for now? Being in my room makes me very angry."

"That's fine." Naruto's voice sounded faraway, and Gaara closed his own eyes, wrapping an arm over Naruto, and even though he didn't feel like Neji, and he didn't smell like Neji…it was nice just knowing there was someone there that felt the way he did.

--

Neji had gone from Sasuke's room to see if Hinata had stopped caring about her clearly idiotic inadequate boyfriend yet, and to see if she would tell him what he did yet so that he would have good motivation to kill him, or at least hurt him very seriously. It had been an all-around failure, and on top of that, Sakura was now in a state of high agitation that indicated she was having troubles with her boyfriend as well. Neji found this only made him more eager to return to his own room.

Which was mysteriously empty.

It had been rather odd when Gaara never met him in the café, despite him waiting for hours, but he assumed that Gaara was preoccupied, working late on a lab assignment, or distracted by something that had caused him to forget. He had been looking forward to teasing him about it, since it had not really hurt his feelings. In fact, he'd gotten a lot of studying done.

But Gaara wasn't here. Odd.

Neji wondered suddenly if Gaara _had_ remembered, and late though it had been, had gone to the café after Neji left, just missing him. He put on his coat and left the house to investigate this idea, but it proved to be a dead end, and by the time he returned, he was more than a little worried.

Where would Gaara be? He still wasn't in their room, so Neji decided to see if he was with Temari, who insisted she hadn't seen him since lunch, and then with Kankurou, whose room seemed to be playing nightly host to the lovelorn drunkard portion of his social circle. Also no help there. He knew it would be unlikely his lover would be socializing on his own, but went back to Sakura's room before also visiting Chouji's room, Ino's room, and then heading to the end of the hall. Lee was doing pull-ups in his doorway, and it was clear no one else was in his room, so Neji knocked on Sasuke's door, but there was no answer.

He hesitated. It was a bit late, and they could be sleeping, but they could also be up to other things, and he doubted they would appreciate an interruption, but he _had_ already seen Sasuke naked, so it really shouldn't be that big of a deal. Besides, if that was what was going on, he'd just close the door and leave.

He opened the door.

His mouth fell open, and he closed the door again, blinking at the wood as though the wood could explain what he had just seen. His lover, curled up sleeping in the arms of another man.

He turned away.

It was time to go have a nice, long lay down.

Maybe in the morning life would make sense.

--

To be continued…


	26. Chapter 26

Everything in Between

Everything in Between

Chapter 26

--

"I think you're imagining things." Kankurou assured his sister. "I mean, who would _want_ everyone to break up?"

"So you're saying that it's coincidence that almost every couple has broken up within this week?" Temari asked him, leveling a skeptical look at him. "Honestly, I _might_ have believed that if it were just one or two couples at the same time, but this is four! Something's definitely going on, and we need to fix it."

"Temari, just leave them alone." Kankurou rolled his eyes, "You're not they're mom, and if they're having problems, it's up to them to break up or work them out. Seriously."

"Don't you care? Your friends, and your own roommate are all upset, some of them at least have probably been missing classes, they're drinking all your booze, you should be at least a little worried about _that_ if nothing else is getting to you." Temari scolded him.

"Come on, they're young, it happens." Kankurou shrugged. "It's Friday night, your classes are over, you should be having fun, not getting into other people's business."

"Our brother's upset! Doesn't that mean anything to you?" Temari was frustrated with Kankurou.

"Look, he thought that Neji cared about him more than he did, it had to end eventually." Kankurou explained. "Like with Shikamaru."

"Don't you even—" she glared at him, flushing with annoyance that he would bring that up.

"No, I mean, cause he actually told me, he's really not that into Ino." Kankurou explained. "He says she's not very smart, and he needs someone who can match wits with him, that sort of thing. He said he really regrets turning you down, because now he's stuck with her."

"He…what?" Temari's face was pale with disbelief, and he could see the glimmer of hope in her eyes. "He said that?"

"I'm just saying, it's the same mistake that ruined a lot of these relationships." Kankurou shrugged. "If you get with someone, but you still want someone else, it won't last. Gaara probably knew Neji still wanted Sasuke, and eventually…"

"Shikamaru…wants me?" Temari was completely focused on only one point of the conversation, as Kankurou had known she would be.

"Yeah, but he said there's really no hope now, he's afraid of what Ino would do if he left her." Kankurou explained. "She can get really violent, you know."

"Yeah…that bitch." Temari sat down on Kankurou's bed, fuming as she thought this over.

"Want a drink?" he asked, and she nodded distractedly. Temari was so easy to win over, it was hilarious. "We're having kind of a party tonight, I invited everyone over, you could talk to him if you wanted."

"I might do that." She sipped at the drink he made her, reflecting on his words. She wanted to worry about her other friends. The fact that most of them said things that were completely different…Neji thought Gaara was sleeping with Naruto, while Gaara thought Neji was sleeping with Sasuke…that was just one example, and it reeked of some sort of misunderstanding. She itched to help her baby brother…but maybe first…maybe first…

_I deserve happiness too, don't I?_

--

"Man, this party sucks." Shikamaru accepted a drink from Kankurou, who was all smiles. "Everyone's pissed at each other."

"They'll get over it." He shrugged. "Isn't it awesome to have everyone together?"

"Um…I guess." Shikamaru frowned as he sipped the drink and accepted another for Ino, who was looking a little bit uncomfortable, sitting between Sakura and Hinata.

"Just…I mean, calm down, you shouldn't be so upset!" Ino was attempting to make them feel better as she accepted her drink and smiled at him. "I mean, they were just your second choices anyway."

"Easy for you to say, you're still _with_ your second choice." Sakura was clearly at least a little drunk, and she kept sighing wistfully and taking deep swigs of whatever it was she had gotten from Kankurou. "Hey, second choice, go get me another." She indicated Shikamaru, who found this all extremely annoying and left the room, slamming back his drink.

_Second choice…well, I guess I am, after all. But to make it sound like I'm so disposable, even Ino sounded like it doesn't matter…_

He leaned against the wall and felt his vision swirl slightly. He looked at his empty cup in confusion, trying to think how many he'd had…but for some reason, he couldn't think straight.

"Hey there," Temari was out in the hallway suddenly, and that seemed fine. He smiled at her, chuckling slightly as he watched his cup fall to the ground and roll away. "I've been wanting to talk to you."

"Course," he felt very dizzy, and when he leaned forward again, he almost fell over, but landed with his arms around Temari, and suddenly she flushed, putting her own arms around him. "You're still in love with me?"

"I…yeah," Temari couldn't believe it. Kankurou had been right! It was clear from the way he was looking at her! And she knew he'd only had one drink, so he couldn't be drunk. He'd stumbled against her on purpose, just to hold her like this. "It's not too late for us, you know."

"Not…not too late." Shikamaru nodded and found the sensation hilarious, bursting into laughter, and Temari giggled with him, unable to believe this could really be happening after so long.

"Let's go to my room." She whispered, and when she kissed him, she could feel him responding, and it was so much better than it'd been before. He would finally belong to her, and nothing would come between them again.

"Your room," he repeated, laughing a little as she walked with his arm over her shoulder, taking him to her room, but as he climbed into her bed, he stumbled a little, and she wondered if she'd been wrong. Was he drunk? She didn't want to take advantage of him, she wanted this to mean something.

"Shikamaru," she stood above him, "are you drunk?"

"Am I?" he giggled, and pulled her down to the bed. "I had _one_."

"But you're so—" she was cut off as he kissed her, pressing against her, and wiped away her concerns. He was unbuttoning her shirt, kissing her neck, kissing her chest, kissing her everywhere, and she felt so happy she thought she would cry.

That was when Kankurou opened the door, standing with Ino, who shrieked at the sight of her boyfriend lavishing attention over another woman. Shikamaru looked up, blinking distractedly at them as though trying to figure out what was going on.

"Ino!" he giggled, "C'mere." He gestured for her to join them, but she just stared at them in horror and alarm, her fists clenching. "C'mon!" he stood, after a fashion, tripping over himself in his attempt to reach her, "Love you!" he giggled, and suddenly, Temari felt very cold. She looked from Shikamaru to her brother, and saw that look on his face, that look he only got when he was getting what he wanted.

"Oh my god, what the hell?" Ino was shocked at Shikamaru's lack of ability to calm down or make any sense. He was attacking her now, trying to kiss her, trying to put his hand up her shirt, and she was having a hard time getting him off of her. "Did you drug him? He was normal a while ago!"

"I didn't." Temari buttoned her shirt, feeling foolish, feeling disappointed, and most of all, feeling very angry with her brother. "But I bet I know who did. Kankurou?"

"What?" he affected innocence as she strode over and punched him in the face. "Ah…fuck, Temari!" he warded her off while Ino watched everything in a continued state of utter confusion.

"Will someone _please_ tell me what the hell is going on!?" Ino growled. "Will someone get him off me?" she was still struggling with Shikamaru, who was now trying to lift her skirt, to her extreme irritation.

"I'll help." Temari turned away from her brother, her jaw set. She would _not_ cry. "It's my fault, I didn't see what he was doing."

"What, taking your shirt off?" Ino looked as though she didn't want any help from Temari, but she still worked with her to get Shikamaru's hands restrained.

"Not Shikamaru," Temari explained, and she turned, but her brother, realizing he was in serious trouble, had fled the scene. Figures. "Kankurou. He's trying to fuck up everyone's relationships. And honestly, he's doing a pretty good job. Here, let's get this one to bed." She tilted her head to indicate the way to Shikamaru's room.

"Why would he do that?" Ino still wasn't sure she wanted to believe this girl who'd been making out with her clearly drugged boyfriend only moments ago, but at least he'd been drugged, or she would currently be kicking his ass. As it was, she was just concerned with verifying the source of the drugs so she could know who to direct her ire against.

"Haven't you noticed that we used to have parties like every weekend, and now we barely ever do?" Temari pointed out, having only just figured this out herself. Luckily, she knew Kankurou well enough to be able to guess his motivation. "I'm betting he figured that if he could make everyone split up, things would go back to how they were."

"So…so Sakura and Sai?" Ino was quite the plotter herself, but she would never undertake something to this scale. "His own roommate? And Kiba and Hinata…Sasuke and Naruto…even Gaara and Neji? He'd do that to his own _brother?_ What's wrong with your family?"

"Stop," Temari rolled her eyes. "Look, I'm sorry about this. I should have known…should have seen what he was up to, but I became too blinded by my own…I need to just give up on him. He's happy with you. Don't be angry with him about this. He'll probably feel horrible tomorrow morning anyway, and he won't even remember any of this, so it's not worth it. He would have never…not if he wasn't drugged."

"Obviously." Ino huffed slightly as they heaved Shikamaru onto his bed and he tried to pull them down with him, but they were able to tuck him in, and Ino found something to tie his hands up with so that he would stop attacking them. "So where'd Kankurou go? I think I need to kill him."

"Now that I've figured it out, he'll probably lie low for a while, hoping that at least people will stay broken up. Our best hope is to explain to them what's going on to fix the damage." Temari speculated. "But someone needs to keep an eye on him, if he gets out of here, he'd probably jump on anyone he sees, and that would just make things worse."

"I'll do that." Ino volunteered at once. "He jumps me all the time, so it won't be a problem if he tries to do it now."

"That's fine." Temari gave a weak smile, knowing that Ino probably didn't trust her alone with a thoughtlessly horny Shikamaru, but the fact of the matter was that what he was offering wasn't what she wanted. "I'll see how many people I can find."

"I haven't seen Sasuke, but he could be in his room…although I thought he was kicked out." Ino frowned slightly. "He'll turn up. And Gaara, I don't know where he is."

"He's been in Naruto's room for a while now, I'm sure he's still there." Temari shrugged and left, heading to see how much of this mess she could clean up.

She would seriously have to kill her brother.

--

"Sasuke, you seem so sad." Orochimaru put a hand on his assistant's shoulder as he set down a stack of papers. "What could be bothering you?"

"My boyfriend kicked me out." He sighed heavily. "And now he's…with someone else." He hadn't wanted to believe it when Neji told him Gaara was staying with Naruto, that he'd seen them together, but it had turned out to be true. For the last two days, he'd been sleeping in the spare bed in Neji's room, which was nothing if not a very odd arrangement, but Neji had done nothing to try and renew their old relationship. He seemed to think he could get Gaara back, but Sasuke knew that it was probably over between him and Naruto. It made sense his lover would move on to someone more pure…someone more worthy of his love.

_Of course, I knew what would happen as soon as I told him about Itachi, it just…it took so long I started to think it maybe wouldn't._

"I didn't know you had a boyfriend, Sasuke." Orochimaru shook his head sadly. "I'm very sorry to hear things aren't working out."

"Th—thanks." Sasuke felt a wave of heat pass through him. He had started to recognize that something about this man…something about him was irresistibly sexual, and it made him unbelievably aroused. It wasn't the way he felt about Naruto, he just…couldn't help thinking that this man could give him what he needed, could shove him up against the wall...could make him forget the pain he'd caused, the pain he'd felt, could make him forget eyes so blue, they shamed the summer sky.

"If there is anything I can do for you, you need only ask." Orochimaru told him, his hand caressing the side of Sasuke's face, and he let out a shuddering breath.

_Naruto left me. Why shouldn't I just do whatever? If I do this…will it help me forget? I can tell he wants me…the way he looks at me, the way he talks to me, the way he's touching me right now._

"I…I don't know." Sasuke wasn't sure if he was talking to himself or to Orochimaru. He pulled away, shaking his head slightly as if to clear his mind of all these thoughts. "I'll…go make us some tea."

"I'll be waiting." Orochimaru's words made him lick his lips. Before…whenever he'd felt these waves of heat, he had been able to redirect them, to channel his lust towards Naruto, to have _Naruto _be the one who pounded into him, who gave him what he needed, and everything else he could want…but now. Now…

_He's not going to come back. Even if Gaara goes back to Neji, Naruto knows now…he knows that he never really loved me, he never could. He probably sees Itachi every time he looks at me, he probably feels the way he looked at me when I first kissed him._

He could still see that disgust, aimed at him, at his feelings, and it burned. He had always wondered if it would come back, and if anything…he was thankful for the time he had been given. For someone like him to be able just to touch someone like Naruto…it had been a miracle, and even though it had been taken away, he should be happy he'd been able to…just once…

"Sasuke, you're crying." Orochimaru's voice was deep and rich, and when he wrapped his arms around Sasuke, even though he knew this wasn't the person he truly wanted, even though he doubted Orochimaru cared about him at all…it felt good just to have that warmth next to him. "Let me help you feel better. Tell me what to do."

"You…you know, don't you?" Sasuke sniffled, turning to face the taller man. "You know what I want, don't you?"

"Tell me," Orochimaru insisted, and Sasuke felt a brief moment of hesitation. Maybe if he went home, maybe if he begged…maybe Naruto would come back to him.

_No…he knows what I am. And the only people who want someone like me…are people like Orochimaru. No wonder being around him is so…distracting. This is the only sort of thing I can hope for, ever. To be someone's secret fuck-hole, to take in everything they can give me, to see if maybe…maybe their passion can bring something to me…maybe I can learn to feel anything besides pain._

"Please," he felt another tear roll down his cheek, and Orochimaru licked his cheek, "please…"

"What?" the word was a whisper, but he knew it was already too late to turn back.

"Fuck me."

--

"So see, Kiba never made any bet, did you, Kiba?" Temari turned to the young man, who looked a bit shocked at the revelations Temari had just brought to Hinata and himself. "And Hinata, have you slept with anyone? Including Naruto?"

"No!" she shook her head, tears of happiness spilling down her cheeks. "Oh, Kiba, is it true?"

"I never would have bet anything like that." He told her, feeling unbelievably relieved. He wasn't sure whether he wanted to kiss Temari or Hinata, but he was pretty sure that it wouldn't be a good idea to kiss another girl in front of his girlfriend. "I love you, Hinata."

"I love you, too." She beamed and held out her arms, and he flew into them, kissing her thoroughly. Temari nodded as though checking their names off a mental list, looking around her. Sai and Sakura had been easily handled, Ino's amazing self-confidence had helped stop her from being angry at Shikamaru, and now Hinata and Kiba were back together. Now to track down Gaara.

"Neji!" she snapped her fingers at the young man moping in a corner. She was willing to bet good money that he'd only come hoping Gaara would be there, just to see him. She had seriously doubted Neji in the beginning, but now…he was like a brother to her. Well, more like a brother-in-law. "Neji, come with me, we're wrapping this stupid farce up."

"What?" he blinked at her, standing and walking to her side nonetheless. "Wait…what is Hinata doing with that unwashed miscreant?"

"Oh, stop it already." Temari grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the room, hoping she would find Gaara in Naruto and Sasuke's room. Maybe she'd also find out where Sasuke was. "Hey, do you know where Sasuke is?" she asked, and Neji shrugged, looking warily at the door she was leading him to.

"Working," he answered. "I don't want—"

"Too bad." She opened the door without warning, to see Gaara working on a paper at Sasuke's desk, and Naruto sitting on his bed, looking dejected.

"Okay then. I wish we could clear this all up at once, but sadly, we have no idea where Sasuke is." Temari gave Naruto an apologetic look. "Neji, have you and Sasuke been secretly meeting?"

"Well, we did meet once." Neji admitted, and she blinked at him in surprise. "We were going to take you guys out to dinner…for Valentine's day, but since…"

"See!" Temari threw up her hands. "Gaara, have you ever had sex with Naruto?"

"What?" Gaara looked completely flabbergasted at this. "Of course not."

"But…I saw you two sleeping in the same bed." Neji gasped. "You mean…you're not with him?"

"I love you." Gaara told him. "But you wanted to be with Sasuke."

"No I didn't." Neji snorted, wanting to laugh in his relief. "No, I never did! I've only ever wanted you. I love you."

"Good, good," Temari nodding, rolling her wrists as though she'd been working very hard and needed to relax. "See? Next time, try freaking talking to each other."

"But…Kankurou told me…" Gaara's eyes went a bit glassy, and he turned a demanding look to Temari. "Why would Kankurou tell me that they were meeting in secret?"

"Because, he wanted everyone to break up so he could have parties all the time." Temari explained for the fourth time that evening. "As usual, his plans are idiotic and selfish. Oh! Don't kill him, you'll get thrown out of school. And besides, I don't know where he is right now." She snapped her fingers and pointed at him meaningfully. "Now then, you can go back to your room to make up."

"You…you want…" Neji was looking at Gaara feverishly, and they both vacated the room so fast, it was as if they'd never been there.

"Now there's just you two." Temari sighed at Naruto, who was looking at her as though she'd just revealed something unbelievable to him. "You should see now, how stupid this all was. If you'd only—" he cut her off with a hug so tight she couldn't breathe. He'd leapt off his bed and he kissed her cheek.

"Thank you!" he told her, looking around for his shoes and throwing them on, running out of the room. "I know where he is!"

Temari decided that was a job well done, if anything was, and decided that it was time for her to go to bed. After all, she was sure that there were a lot more people than her that wanted to have a shot at Kankurou, so if anything, she was only a bit worried that he would in fact be murdered.

--

Naruto was so happy, he couldn't stop smiling, and he felt laughter bubbling up inside him as he left the dorm and ran down the path toward the science buildings. He was sure Sasuke would be there, working with that Professor Hebi. The thought of bursting in on him and just…just kissing him was all that Naruto could concentrate on. He just wanted so badly for this whole stupid misunderstanding to end. He had to admit, he was angry with Kankurou, but his biggest concern at the moment was making sure that Sasuke knew that he knew that everything was okay, that they were still in love, and that he was sorry for ever doubting him.

_Temari was right, we should have just talked about it, and it would have been obvious…_

He wasn't sure where Professor Hebi's office was, and it took him a bit of wandering before he found the directory and saw that he was in the wrong building. He left, running through the dark to the correct building and racing up the stairs, looking up and down the unfamiliar hall, and then turning when he heard the whistling of a teapot.

He ran in that direction, and soon saw Hebi's office, the lights still on and papers everywhere, but there was no one inside. He went further down the hall, following the noise of the teapot, and then he heard something that made his blood run cold.

A moan, one he'd heard so many times he would have been able to easily recognize it…it was the sound Sasuke made when he was…when he was…

He felt numb, full of disbelief as he walked down the hall as if in a trance…he had to know…this time, he'd see with his own eyes what the truth was. He wouldn't listen to the doubts in his heart, and he wouldn't let other people tell him something untrue…he'd see for himself…because it couldn't be Sasuke. He would never…never…

_I was wrong to doubt you, wasn't I? You love me…don't you?_

He stopped as he reached the door to the physics lounge, and saw the whistling teapot, steam pouring from it, and beyond the steam, bent over the counter, crying out, pants around his ankles, was Sasuke. Naruto didn't recognize the man who was pounding into him, pulling his hair back and growling as he slammed into him, so that it was hard to tell if Sasuke felt more pain or pleasure, but Naruto could see…could see that this wasn't like it had been with Itachi and him.

"Harder!" Sasuke cried out, and the man rammed into him, and Naruto fell over in a dead faint.

--

To be continued…


	27. Chapter 27

Everything in Between

Everything in Between

Chapter 27

--

After it was over, Sasuke felt numb, felt empty, and felt more than the ache in his body, a deep pain within him.

_This is wrong. I love Naruto._

He had thought somehow this thing he had thirsted for, this memory of pain and pleasure blending into one…he'd thought that it would be enough, that the intensity would burn away his longing for Naruto, but as he lay slumped over the table, hearing Orochimaru zip up his pants and walk away, all he could think was that this had been a mistake.

"_You're such a whore, baby brother."_

He was right, wasn't he? In the end…he was everything that Itachi had made him out to be, and nothing more. He would have never been able to make Naruto happy. He felt tears pricking at the back of his eyelids, and found he didn't care that Orochimaru had left him there after finishing, was in fact happy to be alone with his despair. He felt disgusting, he could smell Orochimaru on his skin, could feel the dribble of his fluids running down his leg, and he wondered how things had gotten to this point.

_I love Naruto…how can I make him see how much I love him? Why doesn't he trust me?_

And then it occurred to him…what he'd just done…no wonder Naruto didn't trust him. How could he, after the way Sasuke had let Neji use him, let Orochimaru use him, let everyone use him his whole life. The only time he hadn't felt like he was being used was with Naruto…but that time was over, now. He would have to learn to be satisfied with just this, because it would be all he could get ever again.

"Sasuke! My tea!" Orochimaru's voice called out from down the hall, as though nothing out of the ordinary had just taken place between them. He bit down a half-formed sob and stood shakily, shuffling over to the screaming kettle and turning it off, pouring the water in the cup he had been readying before. He grabbed a paper towel to clean himself up and pulled his pants up, fastening them with sluggish fingers, tossing away the towel and the teabag before stepping around the counter to deliver the tea.

At the doorway, he froze at the sight of a collapsed figure, and when he realized who it was, he dropped the cup with a crash.

"Ah!" Naruto was splashed with some of the tea and came to at once, blinking around him in confusion and clutching his scalded arm. "Where…what's going…oh…" he saw Sasuke hovering over him, torn between horror and concern, and his face went slack. Sasuke realized in that moment that Naruto had seen, and knew just what sort of a man he was. "Sorry…just…I have to go." Naruto was on his feet in a matter of moments and stumbled away down the hall, past Orochimaru, who'd come out of his office at the sound of his cup being broken.

"Sasuke, that cup was my favorite." Orochimaru shook his head as though considering the implications with nothing but regret. "Please clean that up, I'll think of what we can do about this."

"I…sorry…" Sasuke was so completely shocked, he didn't know what else to say. If he had any chance with Naruto before, he had completely destroyed it, he knew. He might as well go along with whatever Orochimaru wanted. He could tell that he was the sort who liked to inflict pain…and no matter how he tried to deny it, Sasuke needed that pain so that he could dull the ache inside him, if only for a little bit.

--

"Are you _sure_?" Sakura was completely dumbfounded at Naruto's explanation of why Sasuke and he would not be getting back together. Temari had noticed he had come home alone, looking worse than when he left, and Sasuke had never come home at all, that she knew of. Sakura, and oddly enough, Gaara, had insisted on going with her to find out what had happened. "With…with his professor?"

"I don't think he's technically his professor yet." Gaara pointed out, and Temari sighed heavily.

"Can't…can't we do something about this?" Sakura turned on her companions, and Temari shrugged, shaking her head.

"Sasuke's an adult, it isn't illegal." Temari pointed out. "I mean, he might get like…a slap on the wrist for sleeping with a student, but they're not going to fire someone who's head of a department for that."

"I could kill him." Gaara volunteered.

"The professor or Sasuke?" Sakura gave him an odd look and he shrugged.

"Either one, whichever Naruto likes." Gaara told her. "Or both."

"No…just leave him alone." Naruto had been crying last night, but now he felt oddly wrung out, and found it very difficult to summon any more tears. "If that's what he wants…I want him to be happy."

"That's very sweet, Naruto." Sakura told him, patting his shoulder. "It is also completely idiotic. If you think he's happier with someone else than he is with you, you're out of your mind."

"Yeah, don't you remember what a surly pain in the ass he used to be?" Temari pointed out. "No offense or anything."

"Well…he's the one who decided that's what he wanted." Naruto pointed out. "Who am I to question that."

"So…do you want me to kill him?" Gaara clarified, and Temari gave him a sharp look. "Just trying to help." He grumbled.

"Naruto, you can't just let him go that easily if you really do love him." Temari pointed out. "Didn't any of you learn _anything_ from what just happened? By just jumping to conclusions without talking to each other, relationships can fall apart really quickly, but if you'd just talk to him…"

"I'm not jumping to conclusions, I _saw_ him," Naruto told her, his tone suddenly sharp. "That professor was fucking him, okay? And Sasuke wanted it…I could…I could see that much. I'm not an idiot. If he loved me so much, if he was so happy with me, why would he need something like that from someone else?"

"But maybe…maybe it wasn't what it looked like." Sakura pointed out. "I mean…maybe…"

"Maybe he's forcing him!" Temari exclaimed helpfully. "Or making him do it…for like, his grades or something. Then we could _definitely _get him fired."

"It wasn't like that…I saw, I know." Naruto grumbled.

"I could kill him." Gaara pointed out.

"Would you stop?" Temari clicked her tongue at her brother in disapproval. "I said no."

"I'm helping." Gaara frowned at her. "If you don't need my help, I'll go back now."

"Yes, please make sure the sex is so loud I can't sleep again." Sakura mock-requested as he left the room. "Those two, seriously."

"Sakura, Naruto probably doesn't want to hear about happy couples right now." Temari pointed out, and she grimaced, turning to grin at Naruto sheepishly.

"No, no, it's okay." Naruto sighed. "I'm glad things are working out for them again."

"So am I," Temari smiled. "I'm really sorry about what Kankurou did. If it weren't for him, none of this would have happened. I want to do whatever I can to help you two, as well, so please—"

"No," Naruto sighed heavily, flopping back on his bed. "For all I know, he was doing this before, since when he became that professor's assistant in the first place. Even without Kankurou's interference…I probably would have found out eventually, and maybe…maybe I should be grateful that it was sooner, rather than later."

"Naruto, don't you think maybe things aren't so simple?" Sakura tried again. "I can't bear to think that you two…that it wasn't serious at all in the end. How am I supposed to trust that anything…that things between Sai and I will last, if something so serious can end so suddenly? Are you telling me this whole time, what I saw was a lie? You two…you changed each other, you made each other better than what you could be separately. Do you really think he would toss that away so easily?"

"Sakura—" Naruto groaned, but she cut him off, standing, her eyes gleaming with emotion.

"No!" she insisted. "Just listen to me! All of this happened, all of this got so bad just because we weren't smart enough to speak to each other, to just listen and find out what the truth was! I don't believe you when you tell me Sasuke wasn't satisfied with you, that he wasn't happy. I saw him myself, and maybe you were too close to notice what was happening, but both of you…no matter how good you were before, both of you became better being near each other, like the best version of you came out. And I thought…if that's what it does to someone, to be in love, I wanted so badly to find something so strong, to be able to shine as brightly as possible, and so when Sai asked me out…I was afraid of what might happen, but I couldn't forgive myself if I lost that chance to become a better me. And so…I've been happier with him than I thought possible, but if you're telling me…if you're trying to tell me that it means nothing…"

"That's not what I'm saying." He grumbled, rolling over away from them, his back to Temari and Sakura. "Haven't you ever heard stars burn brightest right before they die?"

"Naruto, that's so depressing, don't say things like that." Temari stepped forward, reaching toward his form, her hand resting on his shoulder. "Even if things really do have to end, you'll go on, and you'll be stronger, we aren't defined by our relationships with others, are we?"

"Aren't we?" he asked, a tremor in his voice. "You define yourself as the older sister, taking care of your brothers all the time, even trying to make up for their mistakes. Who would you be without those two?"

"I'd just be me!" Temari stood up, angry at his words. "It's true, that's part of who I am, but I'd still be Temari even if they disappeared from my life. I know you're hurting right now, but it's cruel to turn that pain against us! Don't get angry at Sakura for having faith in you, and don't get angry at me for saying that it's not the end of the world! Grow up and find out who you are for yourself, and then maybe you'll know what you really want!" she grabbed Sakura's hand and pulled the other girl with her, leaving the room with a loud slam of the door.

Naruto sighed, rolling over again, blinking at the closed door and trying to think of how he should be feeling right now. Should he apologize for belittling Sakura and Temari's ideals? Should he rely on his friends now that he could no longer turn to Sasuke? Should he try to be strong?

He wasn't sure there was any strength left in him now. He could only think of one thing, could only replay that moment over and over again in his mind, seeing Sasuke with that man, and realizing that all of Sasuke's words had meant nothing. He had felt special, seeing the true smile of the Uchiha, but now…he wondered if anything he had seen was true, or if it was all some twisted game.

_He is Itachi's brother, after all…he told me himself he used to idolize him so much…maybe in a weird way, he still does, though he doesn't want to admit it, even to himself._

It was funny to think that in the end, the things Itachi had done to him…he barely even thought of them when he had been so completely consumed with his feelings for Sasuke, so devoted to their relationship above everything else. He had feared he was even neglecting his friends because of the power it held over him. And in the end…what Sasuke had done hurt so much more.

_The best version of me, huh? Selfish…unable to see past that one thing…and now that I see how horrible I had become, it only makes me feel worse, and I'm taking it out on those friends I was forgetting before, the ones I need so badly now…was that really the best version of me?_

Even if it had been, it was gone now, and there was no way to go back to the way it had been. But now…when he needed his friends most, he was pushing them away, returning to the Naruto that was all alone, that no one cared for.

_Before…I thought that all my pain would disappear if I could find friends, find someone to love me…but I hurt worse than ever. Maybe it was better when I was alone. Maybe I should return to that._

--

"I don't know why we cannot just leave them alone." Sai asked, pouting slightly as he followed Sakura to the science buildings. She had insisted they needed to find out where Sasuke was and bring him back and make him make up with Naruto. This all seemed like a lot of work when he could be having private time with her. Kankurou was still missing, but no one was trying very hard to find him, although Sai had a secret desire to try his luck punching Kankurou as soon as he did turn up. He was pretty sure most of his friends must feel that way at this point, though.

"Sai, don't you see?" Sakura turned to him, and even if she hadn't said anything, the look of pleading in her eyes was enough reason for him to do whatever she asked. It was a pain, though. They had just patched things up between them, so they should be enjoying their happiness, not meddling in other people's lives. "They're our friends, and they're unhappy! We have to do our best to help them."

"Okay, then." Sai frowned as he followed her into the building. "Why are we here, then?"

"This is where they physics department is, I'm pretty sure." Sakura tapped her lips. "Up on…the third floor, I think." Since she was studying pre-med, she took a lot of science courses and had become reasonably comfortable with these buildings. "I want to see if this professor guy is around, and if he knows where Sasuke's at."

"Do you think they are really—"

"Don't even say it!" she hissed, gripping his hand tightly as a safety line while they climbed the stairs. "I can't bear the thought that those two could fall apart so easily, that the whole thing could just be a farce. This is…it means a lot to me, okay Sai?"

"Okay." He smiled at her then and she had to stop, just to kiss him. It was amazing how much she had missed him even for the few days they'd been apart.

"Thanks." She blushed and led him into the hallway, looking around for some hint of Sasuke. "His name…the professor's name was Hebi, right?"

"I think so, but I doubt he would be here on a Saturday." Sai pointed out, but Sakura shrugged.

"Even if he isn't, we might find some hint…" she paused, seeing the door at the end of the hall labeled "Physics Lounge" and decided to check it out.

"Here it is!" Sai pulled her to a stop partway there. "Empty, though." He pointed to an office, and indeed the nameplate said Hebi, but the lights were out and the door was closed. She tried the handle to no effect.

"Let's check here." She pointed to the lounge. "There might be someone who knows him, after all." Sai nodded, willing to do anything she asked at this point, and followed her down the hall. She opened the door to the lounge and he gasped at what they saw.

It was a nice area, with a counter and a hotplate, some dishes and things for all-nighters needing a quick snack. There were a few computers, a printer, and a couple of whiteboards, some of which still had equations on them, some of which had goofy pictures sleep-deprived students had probably drawn while working on some project or another. There were a pair of old overstuffed chairs with an old couch in between them.

Sasuke was on the couch, sound asleep.

"Sasuke!" Sakura was not frozen, the way Sai was, and she ran into the lounge, kneeling at the side of the couch and shaking him gently. He felt a faint twinge of jealousy, but bit back the petty feeling at once. After what had happened, Sakura and him had a long talk, about her feelings for him, her feelings for Sasuke, and Sai's feelings for her. It had felt amazing just to know that they felt the same way about each other, and to know that she felt her feelings for Sasuke had been nothing more than friendship with shallow attraction.

"_Even if he came to me now, miraculously not gay anymore, wanting to be with me, I wouldn't leave you for him. Sasuke is a good person, but he's not right for me the way you are. Sometimes I can't help thinking, it's like we were made for each other…"_

The memory of her words, the tears of passion in her eyes…Sai felt all his doubts flee and he ran to her side, kneeling beside her as Sasuke blinked his eyes slowly, waking up very gradually. He turned to them, and Sai noticed right away that something was wrong. Besides the fact that he was sleeping on this couch in the physics lounge, he looked like something very essential had gone from him. It was as if he'd been broken inside, somehow. If Sai didn't know for a fact this was Sasuke, he would think it was someone else, and it suddenly made sense how Sakura was so concerned about everything that was happening to Naruto and Sasuke, if this was the effect it was having. He wondered suddenly how Naruto was, and was glad that these people had Sakura as a friend to watch out for them, and to know when it was time to interfere.

"Sasuke," she sounded concerned, and it was clear she saw in his eyes everything that was wrong, and everything that wasn't there anymore. "Sasuke, are you alright?"

"Sakura?" it looked as though he had needed a monumental amount of energy just to remember her name. "What are you doing here?"

"What are _you_ doing here?" she asked him.

"Sakura was worried." Sai supplied helpfully. "Naruto is very sad, and she wants you both to be happy again."

"Sasuke," Sakura leaned in, spurred on by the look of pain that crossed his face at the mention of the blonde. "Sasuke, Naruto says he saw something…saw you with someone else, but I told him I'm sure it's some mistake! I know if you just talk to him, if you guys just let each other know how you're feeling, everything can go back to how it was, and you'll be happier, you'll see! See, Kankurou was trying to get us all to split up so that things could go back to how they were, and he made Naruto believe you were cheating on him with Neji, and then Neji saw Gaara with him, upset, but they weren't _doing_ anything, but he thought the wrong thing, but it's not true! Naruto never cheated on you, and you would never—"

"I did." Sasuke cut into her exposition. "I did."

"You did…did what?" she laughed slightly. "I already know that there was nothing really going on between Neji and you, so don't act like such a martyr! Naruto loves you, and you love him, so you two should just—"

"Naruto saw me with someone else." Sasuke clarified. "Right there, last night." He pointed to the counter. "He got a great view of the head of the department plowing into me."

"Plowing?" Sai frowned. "Sakura, by plowing, does he mean—"

"Not _now_, Sai!" she hissed. "I'll explain later."

"It means he was fucking me." Sasuke sighed, folding his hands behind his head and staring at the ceiling tiles.

"Oh, I see, it must be used more commonly in reference to women, since the 'seed' terminology is a reference to semen and its purpose, and the metaphor could be drawn to its logical conclusion using further farming term—" Sai was cut off by a glare from Sakura that looked as though it might melt his face off if looks could do such a thing.

"But Sasuke," she turned back to the strangely serene man on the couch. "I'm sure it wasn't...it wasn't like you _wanted_ him to, he must have…coerced you, or something with his position, made you let him—"

"I asked him to." Sasuke told her. "So he did."

"You…you asked him?" Sakura's eyes were wide with disbelief. "I don't…don't understand. Why would you do that? Don't you love Naruto anymore?"

"It doesn't matter how I feel." Sasuke told her. "I fucked it all up now, and it's over. Go away. I want to be alone now."

"No!" she protested. "Sasuke, look at me right now and tell me you don't love Naruto anymore, and I'll leave!"

"Why do you care?" he asked, feeling vaguely annoyed. "Be happy with your boyfriend, hope that he never treats you that way, and go away."

"You're…you're trying to make it seem like you're a bad guy, but I know you aren't!" Sakura looked like she was about to burst into tears, and Sai considered punching Sasuke. It would probably work better now that he was lying down. "I've seen you…seen the way you treat him, like he's everything to you, like you'd die for him if he asked you to. Don't you know what you're doing is hurting him? Doesn't that mean anything to you? Why are you sitting there so calm when you know that you made a mistake like this? You should be panicking; you should be trying to get him back, to explain yourself!"

"What's there to explain?" he asked. "What do you suggest, Sakura?"

She could tell he was teasing her, but she didn't care. "Tell him…tell him you still love him. When you did it…you must not have been thinking straight. Were you drunk, or did he give you some drugs or something?"

"No." he told her, and her confidence faltered, but she recovered.

"Well…even so, you were upset!" she pointed out. "I'm sure you were thinking that Naruto had changed his mind about you, and that he wasn't going to come back to you, and so you thought it would help you forget…I mean, that's what you were doing with Neji, that time before, wasn't it? And he forgave you then! Besides, he'd kicked you out, it wasn't really cheating if you weren't together."

"So if Sai told you he slept with one of his teachers while you guys were fighting, you would just forgive him?" Sasuke blinked at her, and she felt her chest tighten at the thought.

"I would not do that, because I am not a…er…a cheap fuckhole?" Sai tested the term, and moved on when he saw the look of utter horror on Sakura's face. "And also, you have a tendency to be very selfish, Sasuke. It is nothing like the same situation. Also, I am a virgin, I do not use sex for comfort. Typically when I am sad I draw. You should try that next time, you will cause much less trouble."

"Thanks, I'll definitely keep that in mind the next time I have a chance to further fuck my life up." Sasuke snorted slightly. "Can you both…just go? I want to contemplate suicide."

"Sasuke, no!" Sakura gasped in alarm.

"I'm joking, idiot." He rolled his eyes. "Don't worry, I won't throw myself off the building." He told her. "The roof to the door is locked…I think science students are considered high risk."

"That isn't funny." She stood up huffily. "Sai, I don't know where you learned that word, but if I ever hear it again…I'll…I don't know! Sasuke, you're an idiot for lying up here moping about something you did when you could be fixing it! I'm leaving now, but I want you to think about what I said."

"Sure will." Sasuke closed his eyes as she stormed off with her boyfriend, and he felt a pang of envy. He wished the worst he'd ever done to Naruto was say a bad word. He'd already excused so many things… He'd treated him cruelly from the moment they met, and Naruto had never stopped trying to be his friend. He'd caused him a serious physical injury, but instead of getting angry, he'd worried about Sasuke, spent all his time with him, and tried harder than ever to make friends. When they met, Naruto hadn't even considered he could be gay, and Sasuke had forced him to confront that, but he had actually thanked Sasuke for accosting him, forcing himself on him as he had…And when he learned about Neji, he must have thought Sasuke had been joking about his feelings, but despite that, he'd pushed forward, even apologized for not realizing right away that he was attracted to Sasuke. He'd been subjected to the very worst side of his brother, had learned all about Sasuke's past, his many lovers, his relationship with his brother, and despite everything, he'd stayed with Sasuke, and only seemed to love him more as time passed.

But this time…this time he'd gone too far.

Sasuke thought it was possible that if he begged, if he made up a story about his professor forcing him…something along those lines…he thought it was possible that Naruto would take him back, but for once, he could see clearly that as much as he loved Naruto, and as desperately as he wanted to be with him, he only ever hurt the blonde. He had sworn to do everything he could to make him happy, but all he could seem to do was cause him pain. Unless he left him alone…

_He's better off without me. I'm only dragging him down into the darkness, but he's always borne everything I stack on him because that's the sort of man he is. I don't deserve forgiveness._

_I don't deserve him._

Sasuke felt a tear roll down his cheek and closed his eyes. He just wanted to sleep, to have the whole world fall away.

_This pain I feel…this is my punishment…I'm in hell, and I'll have to live with this forever._

Next to that, the rough treatment of Orochimaru was almost a relief.

--

To be continued…


	28. Chapter 28

Everything in Between

Everything in Between

Chapter 28

--

"Woman, would you stop?" Shikamaru batted away Ino, who kept trying to "help" him tie his hair up. "I have to go to class."

"You should leave it down, it looks better," she pulled the ponytail out of his hand and he shot her a very impatient glare. She responded by bursting into tears, throwing the ponytail holder at his face and rushing out of the room.

"Wow, nice one." Kiba commented as he slung a bag over his shoulder and headed out the door. "You better hurry up and go apologize."

"I'll be late to class! I'm not going to apologize for her being crazy!" Shikamaru grumbled, grabbing his own bag and following Kiba out the door. "Seriously, she's been even more moody than ever lately."

"I hear you, you know!" Ino's voice called out, and she poked her tear-streaked face into the hallway. "Don't you care about my feelings at _all_?"

"Later! I've got a test!" Shikamaru waved, and she turned back into the room, sobbing noisily.

"Christ, Ino." Tenten rolled over to look at the clock, causing Shino to mumble and grope about until he found her body again and snuggled against it. "It's too early for histrionics. Go…have some tea or something."

"Doesn't _anyone_ care about me at all?!" she exploded. "I'm clearly upset! But no one cares! No one says 'Oh Ino, what's wrong, do you need a hug?' Well you know what? I don't _want_ your damn hugs anyway!"

"Tenten…hit the snooze." Shino grumbled, burrowing his face against her back, and she couldn't help laughing, not that it really made Ino any happier.

"That's not the alarm, dear, those are the dulcet tones of my roommate." Tenten advised him, and he let out a long sigh.

"Tell her to go to her boyfriend for that." He rolled over, trying to get back to sleep.

"I _did_! He's the insensitive ass that started it!" Ino exclaimed. "I'll tell you, _if_ you care to hear!"

"Ino, honestly." Tenten sat up, seeing that this was a losing battle. "Right now, Sasuke's having an illicit affair with his professor and _still_ living with Naruto, so everyone is on pins and needles around them, trying not to set off a massive homicidal explosion. Kankurou's _still_ missing, and presumed dead by me, with a suspect list that basically includes everyone on this floor, and honestly, if I was him, and I was alive, I'd stay hidden…pretty much forever. Almost every couple just went through a dramatic break-up of some sort, and then just got back together, so seriously, at this point, I'm just kind of numb to drama."

"Fine then." Ino huffed and turned away. "If you don't care, I won't tell you, but it doesn't make me feel _any_ _better_ that my own roommate couldn't give a shit what's going on with me!"

"Ino, if you could give me one week without some sort of over-dramatic performance like this, I might get more concerned, but as it is, you're costing me valuable sleep time." Tenten explained.

"Then ignore me!" Ino's voice wobbled. "But since you won't have any idea _why_, it'll be up to you to come up with some way to explain to everyone where I've disappeared to if I have to drop out of school!" she stormed out, slamming the door so hard one of her pictures fell of the dresser with the sound of glass breaking.

"Ugh, I just love having a roommate." Tenten rolled her eyes, getting up to clean it up before she stepped in it, or someone else did. "Honestly, it's times like now I almost miss Lee."

"He'd have woken us up five hours ago." Shino reminded her with a yawn.

"Oh yeah, the workouts…forgot those." She sighed. "Guess the grass is always greener, right?"

"Do you think she's really going to drop out over something?" Shino asked.

"What, like cause Shikamaru wouldn't buy her a purse or take her to some movie?" Tenten snorted as she picked up the glass carefully. "Honestly, unless she's having problems with her grades, I can't see her dropping out, and she leaves her tests lying around like badges of honor, so I know that's not going to happen."

"Maybe her parents can't afford school." Shino reasoned.

"Naw, they own some chain of flower shops." She told him. "Regional, but they're pretty successful, and she gets a lot of scholarship money. Plus, in case you didn't notice from her completely spoiled attitude, she's an only child."

"So you think this is just another fit?" he asked, enjoying the view as she got rid of the glass and came back to bed, wearing only a pair of underwear and one of his shirts. "She just wants attention?"

"Doesn't she always?" Tenten returned. "Honestly, if anything ever seriously happened to her, she's so over-dramatic, she'd probably buy up television time to put up announcements."

"That's good then." Shino opened his arms when she climbed in next to him. "I'm not sleepy anymore."

"Neither am I…" she looked suddenly thoughtful. "But here we are in bed…what should we do?"

Shino had a brilliant answer to that question.

--

Naruto had become very accustomed to living in silence.

It was amazing that two people could share a room and never talk to each other unless it became absolutely necessary. They seemed to have come to an unspoken agreement that if neither of them mentioned Orochimaru, they would not need to fight about it and could just go on their separate ways as peacefully as possible.

It was hard, seeing him all the time, every day he came home, every morning struggling to wake up for class, or still sleeping peacefully as Naruto left the room.

He wished that he had suddenly become ugly or changed a lot, so that he wouldn't have that urge to kiss him when he came home, so that he wouldn't have to forcibly remind himself which bed was his, and which bed was Sasuke's, and who belonged in each one. He had asked Shikamaru if he wanted to switch back.

Shikamaru had laughed in his face and told him there was no way he was going to move all his stuff again. He said it had been Naruto who wanted to live with Sasuke, and he'd just have to deal with it for the rest of the year. May seemed a million months away from that perspective.

"_Besides, I know as soon as I move my shit, you'll just make up and make me do it all over again." Shikamaru had left the conversation at that._

Naruto really did not think there was any chance of that. He could see clearly that Sasuke had completely lost any interest or affection for him. Before…before, he'd been unable to keep his hands off Naruto. And before they'd been together, he hadn't been able to resist teasing him, testing his calm, doing whatever he could to upset the blonde, usually to great effect. But now…

_It's like he's living alone. He never even notices me, never asks how my day was, or calls me names, or looks at me or anything!_

It was slowly driving him insane.

He also seriously regretted his in depth knowledge of Sasuke's class schedule. Now he knew every time Sasuke was leaving to go to his _job_, if he still even bothered to call it that. He was pretty sure there was only one sort of job that involved the sort of things that he'd seen Sasuke doing, and he really couldn't think about that, as much as he wanted to be angry, wanted to think horrible things about Sasuke…he couldn't. He still loved him, no matter what, and as much as it hurt to think of him doing things with this professor, going out to movies and having coffee together, staying up late and talking…it hurt.

Sakura still seemed convinced that everything would resolve itself between them, so she wasn't really any help, because every time he complained about it, she just told him that she was sure that it would work out, and that Sasuke was still living with him because he wanted so badly to be near him.

_Or his new boyfriend doesn't really want to shack up with a student._

Most of his friends were far too involved in their own recently recovered relationships to want to hear someone complaining about how horrible it was to live with your ex, and to know that he was going out to sleep with someone else every night. At least he hadn't brought the professor back to the dorms yet, maybe because he was trying to keep it under wraps to keep his professor out of trouble. Naruto had to fight every day with his desire to report the relationship, but since he knew it wouldn't get that dirty old man fired, and since it would only make Sasuke sad, and it would be obvious who had blown the whistle…he kept it to himself.

Even Temari wasn't interested in his complaints anymore. She was currently actually starting to worry about Kankurou, and was actively trying to locate him. He was not sure whether he wanted to hit the missing man yet, but it was very tempting to blame this all on him.

He knew he _definitely_ wanted to punch that professor whatsisname.

He looked up as the door opened, biting his tongue to stop himself from saying hello, trying to stop himself from looking at Sasuke, drinking in the sight of him like a man dying of thirst, but that much…that much he couldn't stop. It wasn't like Sasuke could tell, anyway. He refused to ever look at him.

_It's torture just being in the room with him. But at least when he's here, I know he's not with _him_._

Naruto took a deep breath and returned to his studies. Not that he'd get anything done with Sasuke here, anyway.

--

"If you could," Orochimaru made a gesture as he walked into the office, not looking up from his papers and Sasuke nodded, ignoring the sinking feeling in his chest as he set aside his own work and closed the door behind Orochimaru, locking it and closing the blinds. By the time he had finished this, Orochimaru was sitting in his chair, pants open, and he hurried over, knowing what he was supposed to do and not wasting any time. It wasn't hard at all, but he knew that if he couldn't fix that, Orochimaru would take it out on him, so he went to work at once with his mouth, hoping that this time, he'd just finish in his mouth. Somehow, he felt like Naruto could probably smell it on him every time they had sex, so that he'd taken to showering almost as soon as he got home if he had been taken.

He felt cheap, he felt useless, and he felt like this was his punishment, so he did not complain. He did what he was told to, and he realized after a few weeks that this was almost exactly the way Itachi had treated him, but with the added interest of being able to observe it all without having any affection for this man. He understood fully the contempt Itachi had felt for him, and saw that he had deserved it, and that he deserved it still. He couldn't believe now that there had been a time he had been happy, had felt pride, had felt good about his life. He couldn't believe there had been a time when his biggest concern was his grades.

And he was living with Naruto still, which was like a further level of torture beyond this, beyond allowing himself to be used and cast aside daily, as though he needed confirmation of his worthlessness. Naruto never spoke to him, and he never yelled at him, and he never did anything to indicate he was upset about what had happened, that he had any regrets, that he missed what they had shared.

_What is there to miss? Look at me…if he wanted me, he could have me any time, and just toss me aside again. He's moved on, obviously._

_And he must be happier. I know he must be, whatever Sakura keeps saying. She has some weird sort of obsession with us, but there's no way…no way Naruto misses me._

Orochimaru made a noise, and snapped his fingers, and Sasuke got up, holding in a sigh as he braced himself against the desk, biting his lip as he was entered with no preparation, no feeling, no words of comfort or affection, no anything.

He tried to remember what it had been like to be with Naruto, and he caught onto fuzzy memories of something so much better…so completely amazing…it couldn't have really been so good, could it? He must be remembering it wrong. He remembered feeling everything with Naruto it was possible to feel, from joy to despair, laughing together and crying together…it couldn't be possible.

Orochimaru finished with a grunt, and Sasuke was left leaning against the desk. "Get out." The words were tossed at him as carelessly as anything else that was done to him these days. He didn't bother cleaning up, he knew it made Orochimaru angry when he dawdled, so he yanked his pants up, gathered his homework up, and was out of the office as fast as he could be, though he heard Orochimaru make an angry noise that meant he would probably hit him when he came back. Or maybe he'd force him to stay under his desk with his dick in his mouth while he met with students. So far, that had been the worst. When Orochimaru had seen the tears of shame on his face after that, he'd only laughed at him and then worked himself off right onto Sasuke's face, making him deal with the extremely mortifying situation of having to find somewhere to clean up while trying not to let anyone see him. Sasuke had realized that day that showing evidence of pain only turned Orochimaru on more.

Sakura was waiting for him in front of the building, reading a book almost as though she just happened to be there. But when he passed her, she stood up with a look on her face that showed that she had at least a pretty good idea of what had happened ten minutes ago, and that she completely disapproved of it. And just in case he wasn't sure about that, she started telling him about it.

"I can't believe you're still doing that." She sighed. "Do you love that professor?"

"Sakura," his tone was full of warning. "Isn't Sai somewhere?"

"Sai and I aren't having any problems." She told him. "Next week is our three month anniversary."

"Fabulous." He told her in a dry tone. "Go bother him."

"Sasuke, I just don't think you're even _thinking_ about what you're doing anymore." She told him, her tone tearful. "I mean, you're sleeping in the same room as Naruto, and he's _miserable_, because he's still in love with you, and every day, you're going to be with this professor you don't even care about, who I seriously _doubt_ cares about you, and it can't…Sasuke!" she stopped him then, and turned him to face her, gasping at the purplish streak on the side of his face. "Sasuke, _who_ did that to you?" she demanded, and he rolled his eyes, brushing her hand away. "It was him, wasn't it?"

"You know, that pronoun doesn't really tell me who you mean." Sasuke told her, walking on, and she chased after him, so angry her face was white with red splotches on her cheeks.

"You _know_ who I mean, that Hebi man." She hissed angrily. "That bastard sitting up there that just got done _fucking_ you."

Sasuke was slightly taken aback. He would have never expected such strong language from Sakura, and the way she was looking at him could have probably caused most people to positively wilt. Unfortunately for her, he dealt with a lot worse than her glares every day. "Honestly Sakura, it's none of your business."

"Okay, like I think someone _else_ just randomly hit you." Sakura rolled her eyes. "Oh, I know, it must have been _me_, because I was sick of you acting so stupid! Sasuke, it's bad enough already, but if he's hitting you, you seriously can't just let this go on!"

"I already said it's none of your business." He told her with a look of boredom. "So just leave me alone already. Go help Temari with her manhunt or something."

"Man, I can't believe no one _still_ knows where Kankurou went." Sakura was momentarily distracted. "I mean, pretty soon…but still!" she realized what was going on and turned on him. "You're being an idiot!"

"Fine, thanks." He told her, waving as they reached the landing and he walked to his room. She stood there, staring after him for some time before letting out a deep sigh and turning to go see Sai.

He went into the room, his eyes on the ground as he walked toward his bed, not wanting to see Naruto ignoring him, or worse, looking at him with disgust, or hatred, or whatever else he must feel for Sasuke. He still had his half-finished homework folded up in the book he'd carried back home, and he set it on the bed, feeling a desperate need for a shower. He grabbed his robe and fled the room swiftly, feeling sure that Naruto could smell the sex on him, could tell he still had juices running down his leg.

When he reached the bathroom, he gathered the things he needed from his cubby, stepped into a shower and stripped down swiftly, grimacing at the sticky fluid drying inside his pants, and stepped into the shower. The feeling of the hot water was wonderful, but even taking a shower was sad for him, because he could remember taking showers with Naruto before, doing a very poor job of getting anything clean, and mostly concentrating on each other. He could still remember how he looked when the water ran down his tan skin, damping down his spiky blonde hair.

Now, the best part of the shower was that he was alone, and that he could wash off the smell of Orochimaru, but he could not rid himself of the shame. He tried to limit his time in the shower, though, because he wasn't sure it was good for him to scrub at his skin so obsessively, and while he tried to stop himself from becoming raw, he found it very hard to look at his skin for very long. The bruises standing out on his pale skin like tattoos only reminded him of everything Orochimaru would do to him. At least he could hide most of them from people like Sakura who couldn't keep their noses out of other people's business.

Satisfied that he at least didn't smell like an ill-used whore anymore, he turned off the water, dried off, and slung the robe over his form. Glancing down, he saw a large bruise on his leg, but he doubted anyone would realize it was from someone kicking him. Putting his other things back, he gathered his clothes and headed back to his bedroom, breathing a sigh of relief when it was empty. He always felt very odd changing in front Naruto, because it seemed very wrong to get naked in front of the other man and not end up…well, it was better not to think about it. He liked to change in the closet, these days.

But without Naruto there, he tossed aside the silk robe and found the pajamas he had started wearing again after they broke up. When they had been together, he usually slept naked, or in his underwear, but now…just showing his skin seemed like some advertisement, and when he knew how Naruto felt, he couldn't just…

He heard a noise like a strangled yelp, and suddenly looked up, to see that Naruto was staring at him in alarm from the doorway. He pulled up his pajama pants, but had a nervous struggle with the shirt that ended with the buttons all buttoned wrong, his face flushed as he chanced another glance at Naruto, who had closed the door, but was staring at him in alarm.

_Should I say something? Or should I apologize? I mean, he didn't knock, but I still…he looks so upset._

"What…what happened?" Naruto's voice made him look up again in surprise, and he was alarmed to see the blonde was standing right over him, bending over, his eyes narrowed, his hand reaching shakily for Sasuke's face. Suddenly, he remembered he still had a bruise on his cheek from when Orochimaru had hit him yesterday for...well, whatever he had been annoyed by at the moment.

"I…nothing." He flushed, and felt stupid to feel the blood in his cheeks, as if there was anything to be embarrassed about, after all that he'd been through already.

"You're covered in bruises," Naruto's voice was pained. "How come?"

"Soccer, you know." He shrugged.

"I know soccer injuries when I see them." Naruto pushed his sleeve down, revealing part of his shoulder and neck. "This looks like fingers…like someone just…just…"

Sasuke couldn't breathe. Naruto was touching his skin, his fingers felt like fire, and his heart was suddenly beating so hard he could feel the blood pounding in his ears, and his lips parted, his fingertips going numb.

_Did I always react like this? It makes Orochimaru seem like a disgusting brute…his touch is like…nothing else._

"It looks like someone hit you," Naruto told him, his tone full of concern, and Sasuke remembered what Sakura had said about Naruto still having feelings for him. Gathering himself, he tilted his chin up, and he let his eyes meet Naruto's.

Blue, beyond any other shade of blue he had ever seen. He had almost forgotten how breathtaking Naruto's eyes were, his face, so earnest and full of concern, every emotion clear as day for anyone to read, encouraging Sasuke to show his own emotions in return. This was the man that had taught Sasuke what love was, and what it felt like to be in love with someone who loved you in return.

But he'd lost that now…he couldn't have it back.

Naruto's fingers left his shoulder and brushed over his cheek, so lightly he felt no pain, only a tingling sensation like he was bringing life to flesh that had been dead for over a month now, since the last time he'd felt Naruto's skin against his.

_If I'd know then it would be the last time…I would have told him how much I loved him…made sure he knew, and I would have tried harder to memorize…everything about him, so I could have it still._

"Did someone hit you?" Naruto breathed, and Sasuke realized that as amazing as it seemed, as unbelievable as it was…Naruto still wanted him. He could see it in his eyes, the way they were looking at him now, just as he had then…and even after everything, he was still looking at Sasuke the same way. How could that be? "Was it him?"

"I…I just…" Sasuke was struggling with himself. He was having a hard time concentrating, and all he could focus on seemed to be how much he wanted to kiss Naruto, how easy it would be, with his face so close, and it was hard to string any words together. "He was angry."

"Oh, Sasuke," Naruto's brow furrowed in concern, his hand on the other man's chin. "Does it hurt?"

He had expected somehow for Naruto to scold him, to tell him what a big mistake he was making, but instead…he was just concerned. He showed the same concern he might show if anyone else had hit him, or if he'd gotten the bruise in soccer practice.

_He cares about me still…but even though he wants me, even though he can see the way I'm being treated, he's not trying to make me leave him, he just wants to be sure I'm okay._

This was the man he loved, who never judged him, who accepted him for all of his choices, and stuck by him no matter what.

Unable to stop himself anymore, he lunged forward, pressing his lips to Naruto's, his head swimming as he was overwhelmed with the nearly forgotten memory of this feeling, so overwhelming he felt he might swoon.

But…something was wrong. Naruto wasn't kissing him back. Instead, he pulled away, and though his face was flushed, he looked surprised. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm…" Sasuke wasn't sure what he could do. He must have misunderstood, he had thought for sure that Naruto still had feelings for him, but he'd pulled away from him. What was going on? "Nothing, sorry."

_It's over, after all._

--

To be continued…


	29. Chapter 29

Everything in Between

Everything in Between

Chapter 29

--

"Idiot!" Temari shrieked into her cell phone. "You stupid, stupid boy! What did you think was going to happen? And then you decide to just pack up and run away from the whole mess?"

"Hey Sai…what's going on?" Sakura peered down the hall past her boyfriend's room to where the shouts were very audible.

"I believe she has managed to get Kankurou on the phone." Sai explained. "I was wondering if he was planning to take midterms at all, and it seems as though he will be, if he has resumed communications."

"Wow…really?" Sakura had started to think he was just never going to come back, and honestly, she couldn't blame him, after all the people he'd upset and interfered with. "So he's coming back?"

"I believe he is attempting to secure Temari's services as his ambassador first, to assure that he is not killed by anyone when he arrives, as there are many people with reason to be angry with him." Sai explained. "I am disappointed, as I do not want to upset Temari, but I did very much want to punch Kankurou in the face, because I did not like what he did at all, and found his motivations to be selfish and cruel."

"I know, but seriously," Sakura sighed slightly. "Every time you pick a fight, you just end up getting knocked out, so it might be better from now on if you just avoided that."

"You are worried for me?" Sai tapped his chin. "I see, that is most romantic of you."

"Sai," Sakura smiled at him softly. Most men would feel annoyed or controlled if she said something like that to them, but Sai was different. "I love you."

"I love you, too." He smiled brightly, wrapping an arm around her and kissing her warmly.

"I _hate_ you!" Ino's cry cut into the moment, and Sakura pulled away a bit to see what was going on down at the other end of the hall. She could still make out the sounds of Temari scolding her brother over the phone from next door, so she walked back towards Shikamaru's room, where Ino was standing in the doorway, looking very angry. "Everything I do is too much trouble for you! Then I'll _save_ you the trouble!" she slammed the door and ran to her own room. Sakura shrugged at Sai and went after her.

Maybe she just was annoyed with the endless failure of trying to help Naruto and Sasuke, but even though Ino could be a bit annoying and overbearing at times, she was Sakura's friend as well, and she wouldn't just leave things like this.

"Ino?" Sakura knocked on Ino's door and after a moment, the blonde answered, looking a bit surprised. "Is everything okay? I heard you and I thought I'd check…"

"Sakura!" Ino hugged her suddenly, so tightly that Sakura couldn't help gasping in surprise. "Thanks…thanks for asking!"

"Do you want me to come in?" Sakura asked, and Ino pulled back, letting her in and shutting the door. "You guys have been fighting a lot lately, and I wondered if there was anything I could do. I don't want you two to end up like Sasuke and Naruto."

"No…it's not that serious," Ino put a hand to her forehead as though trying to regain herself forcibly. "It's not…he just…he just…"

"He just made you angry?" Sakura attempted. "Did he say something stupid?"

"Yeah," Ino sighed in relief and sat down on her bed while Sakura took a chair. "It's no big deal, really…I shouldn't get so upset over the tiniest things." She laughed out loud suddenly. "You know, half of these fights, I forget what they were about the next day. So it's nothing like Naruto and Sasuke."

"But if you're getting so upset so easily," Sakura frowned thoughtfully. "Don't you think that's a symptom of something bigger? Are you worried about what happened with Temari? Because you know he was drugged, he would never—"

"I know that!" Ino cut her off. "I know that, I do. But I keep having these weird thoughts, and I just can't let them go, and they end up going too far, and I _know_ that I've lost control, but I just can't stop!"

"Is it something else, then?" Sakura asked, understanding in her tone. "You haven't let your grades suffer because you want to spend time with him, have you?"

"No…my grades are fine, everything in my life is fine…I just…" Ino's face screwed up, and she was suddenly crying into her hands. Sakura moved to sit next to her, putting her arms around her former rival, letting her cry into her shoulder.

"It's okay, you don't need a reason." Sakura sighed. "We're on the same path. You want to be a doctor too, we both understand how stressful it can be. But you shouldn't take it out on poor Shikamaru, he'll start to think you don't love him anymore, and that's not the case, is it?"

"Sakura…can I tell you something?" Ino's voice wavered, and Sakura felt her heart drop in her chest as the girl pulled away, scrubbing at her face. She could tell she was about to find out what was really going on here. "If I do…can you promise to keep it a secret from everyone, even from Sai?"

"I…of course." Sakura was surprised that Ino was confiding in her. Sure, they got along much better than they had at the beginning of the year, but she would have expected Ino to confide in Hinata or Tenten, or maybe even Shikamaru or Naruto. Not her. "I swear I won't say a word."

"I'm late." She let out a weak sob, and Sakura frowned, not sure what she meant. "I mean…at this point…I'm really starting to worry."

"Late…" Sakura thought she might know, but she didn't want to draw the wrong conclusion here.

"My period." Ino clarified, and Sakura paled, understanding how stressful that must be.

"Well, how late?' Sakura forced a smile of understanding, not wanting to make Ino panic. "I know it's scary, even I get worried, and Sai and I only just started having sex recently. But with classes and stress, you know it's pretty normal to be a few days late."

"Nearly a month." Ino admitted, her lip trembling, and Sakura bit her own lip, doing everything she could to school her expression. "I was expecting…the day after Valentine's Day, and I thought…thought it was the stress, but now…it's getting so late, and I've been feeling sick lately. I don't know what to do, Sakura."

"Ino…" Sakura put on a brave face, but she couldn't help feeling alarmed as well. "It's okay. Hinata told me she'll miss a month sometimes, so it could be nothing, and maybe you're making yourself sick just worrying so much."

"Like…maybe I have an ulcer?" Ino sounded very hopeful for someone suggesting they had a hole in their stomach, but Sakura couldn't blame her. "That could be. That makes sense, I mean, Shikamaru and I always use protection, so how could I be…"

"Right!" Part of her wanted to chide Ino, to tell her that she was smart enough to know that there really was nothing that could guarantee she couldn't possibly become pregnant, so obviously it was still possible, but she couldn't feel good about scolding someone who so clearly was in a fragile state of mind already. "Does…does Shikamaru know?"

"No," she admitted, "he just knows I'm being a bigger bitch than ever. But what's the point in saying something? Unless I know for sure…"

"I see." Sakura could understand why Ino was keeping her fear secret. If no one knew, it made it less real. "Let's go, then." She stood up and held out her hand.

"Go?" Ino questioned, standing hesitantly.

"To the store." Sakura smiled. "I'll be there too, it'll be fine."

"I…but…I need to study." She attempted weakly.

"You'll be able to concentrate better if you know. Come on." Sakura handed Ino her coat. "Let's go."

"Oh…okay." Ino fumbled at her coat fastenings while Sakura went to retrieve her own coat. Sai was waiting for her, and she told him that she had to help Ino with something, asked him to wait there, and gave him a warm kiss. He blinked at her, and she was almost sure he knew something was wrong, but he still nodded, kissed her cheek, and told her to have fun.

"Come on." Sakura smiled when she rejoined Ino, who was trembling all over, but had managed to get her coat on in any case. "It's okay, it'll be fine." She told Ino, but she couldn't help wondering what Ino would do if she really was pregnant. Would she keep it? Would she drop out of school? What about Shikamaru? She decided it would just make Ino become more worked up if she asked those questions now, so she decided to act optimistic for now.

When they reached the store, Ino frowned, hesitating until Sakura took her hand and pulling her along with a reassuring smile. "Which one?" she asked, trying to sound like people bought these sort of things every day. Ino was staring at the shelf in what looked like abject horror, so Sakura grabbed a box, and bolstered by her example, Ino gathered three separate tests herself. Sakura blinked at her, and Ino shrugged.

"One of them could be faulty." She explained, and Sakura nodded, not knowing what else to do. Ino paid, and they walked home in nervous silence. "Down here." Ino pointed to the bathroom at the base of the stairs when they entered the dormitory. Sakura understood at once. This was a large, locking bathroom, and it was rarely used since only the RA lived on the ground floor, so they'd have privacy.

Sakura went in with her, opening boxes, reading all the instructions and setting each plastic stick in a neat row, turning away while Ino started them.

"Did I ever tell you, Shikamaru and I did it in here once?" Ino told her with false bravado, looking at her watch as she finished up. "He had me up on that sink, and I kept worrying that it would break."

"Oh yeah?" Sakura laughed, trying not to look at the little plastic sticks. "Whose idea was that?"

"Well, he's the one that pushed me in here." Ino explained, her voice shaking slightly. "But I'm the one who always carries condoms. Sometimes it's hard for him to wait, and I can't just…" she trailed off, her face strained, and glanced at her watch again. "Why do these things take so long?"

"Probably a form of torture." Sakura speculated. "Maybe they put a slow release on them just to mess with people."

"Why…why is this happening to me?" She let out a sob suddenly, and Sakura paled in alarm. "What will I do? If I am…how can I tell Shikamaru without having him…I can already see him saying I'm too much trouble, and just…just…"

"Hey!" Sakura grabbed her shoulder firmly. "He's lazy, but he wouldn't just toss you aside because…of something like that. He really cares about you. Remember how he said having a girlfriend would be too much work so he wouldn't? But you made him break his own word."

"Yeah…but I had to practically bully him into it…so I knew as soon as things started to interfere with the rest of his life he'd be done with me. And I'm afraid…afraid every day he's going to just turn me out and tell me never to come back." Ino explained, sniffling.

"Ino, just because things started off like that…" Sakura stopped herself. "Look at me, I told Sai that I shouldn't be dating because I needed to concentrate on my studies, and I was still a little upset over Sasuke, but I decided to take a chance with him. And now…we had that fight, and that was when I realized how much he's come to mean to me, and how hard my life would become without him. Even if he told me something that meant he would need a lot of extra support from me…isn't that what it is to be in a relationship? Why would I hesitate? Don't assume that you're the only thing keeping that relationship going. You can trust Shikamaru, he'll do the right thing, whatever happens."

"Unless he's drugged." Ino laughed nervously, and Sakura laughed as well, harder and longer than the joke warranted, but it felt so good to cut the tension like that, it was hard to stop once they'd started. Finally, Ino glanced at her watch, gulped, and looked at Sakura pleadingly.

"Okay, okay." She nodded, moving past her friend to the line of tests. She took her time on each one, checking the symbol against the instructions guides, comparing to make sure they hadn't mixed up tests and instructions.

"Well?" Ino couldn't take the wait anymore, and she stomped impatiently, doing a weird little dance that might have been funny in another situation. "Come on, is there like one that doesn't match?"

"No…they all say the same thing." Sakura returned, pursing her lips. "Looks like you're pregnant."

"Oh." Ino looked very pale, and Sakura thought she would faint, but she just leaned against the wall heavily. She took a deep breath before examining the tests herself and smiling at Sakura when she was satisfied. "Thanks." And she left, not cleaning up any of the tests, but Sakura wasn't that upset with her, considering the circumstances.

_What will she do, now?_

--

Naruto had started a sort of game. Well…it wasn't that fun, so he wasn't sure it counted as a game. When Sasuke had kissed him a few days ago, it had occurred to him that perhaps Sakura wasn't just being a hopeless romantic. Maybe Sasuke really _did_ want him back. He had been so surprised at the time, he had questioned his former lover's motives, and since then, Sasuke had not done anything like that, but that was where the game came in.

He was flaunting himself, basically. He was too afraid to act on his own, so he kept doing things he knew had made Sasuke excited before things had fallen apart between them. This involved a lot of walking around and lounging in only his underwear, and then today, he'd come up with a rather genius idea.

He had a shirt on for this, because he was a little afraid of it backfiring and him getting kicked out of the room, but he was taking a nap in Sasuke's bed. He had inferred from the number of times Sasuke had woken him up for sex that there was something about him being asleep that also appealed to the other man.

The worst part of this was that he was now hyper-aware of Sasuke's appearance, and every new bruise told him that even if Sasuke did come back to him now…what he wanted was something Naruto wasn't sure he could give.

_No wonder he left me. I can't…I mean, I knew he liked it rough sometimes, but I can't go that far. His body's too beautiful to want to mark it that way…the bruises…they're so ugly._

So there was really no point. If anything, he would have to settle for being one person Sasuke slept with, and Naruto didn't want to share him, but at the same time…being without him made him realize that there was very little he wouldn't sacrifice to be with Sasuke.

_I don't want to share him…but if that's the only way I can have him…won't I settle for that?_

He knew that he would, but he wondered how long something like that could last. He didn't like to judge Sasuke, but he had no problems judging that Hebi man. He was clearly a sadistic asshole, but Sasuke must like those things he did, because it wasn't as though he had been starved for sex or attention with Naruto. Clearly, this man offered something that Naruto didn't, but that Sasuke needed somehow. He knew that there were people like that who liked to be hit and things like that, but even seeing the bruises hurt him so deeply…he knew that wasn't something he could do for Sasuke.

_But he did kiss me…maybe there's something I can give him that he isn't getting from that Hebi man._

He felt his appeal was much more tenuous, though. The only things he offered were love and sex, and he knew for sure Sasuke was getting the latter. But no matter what sort of person this Hebi was, how could he resist falling in love with Sasuke? So eventually, Sasuke wouldn't need anything from Naruto, and there would be no reason for him to be tempted by the blonde.

_I know that I can't be the man he needs, but at least for a little bit…I'd like to have him close to me again. I want to see him look at me that way he used to, like I'm the only person in the world he ever needs to see, ever wants to see._

_But now…he has Hebi…why would he look at me that way?_

He had meant to fake falling asleep, but the comfort of being surrounded by Sasuke's smell, to be back in the bed they had shared…it was too much, and he fell asleep after twenty minutes.

Ten minutes later, Sasuke returned home, doing his utmost not to limp. Orochimaru had gotten a bit out of hand, and he was feeling sore, but the thought of Naruto seeing him limp…he would know why, and he couldn't deal with that.

In the room, he was about to gather his things for a shower when he saw Naruto in his bed, fast asleep. He felt his mouth go dry, and he realized with surprise that he was getting hard, just looking at the other man in his bed, the bed they had recently shared. Sasuke usually slept in, so seeing Naruto asleep like this…usually, it only happened after they'd had sex and the blonde passed out.

_No wonder it turns me on so much…it's like he fell asleep there waiting for me._

He wanted to climb into the bed with Naruto, but he also desperately wanted to wash Orochimaru's stink off of him. He left the room, breathing hard, feeling flushed, and in the shower, he worked himself off in an effort to clear his thoughts. He had been a little hard with Orochimaru, but it had hurt so much, and it had been over so fast, he hadn't been able to finish, so it was a welcome release.

_Maybe when I get back to the room he won't be there. I hope he isn't…because if he is…I just don't know what I'll do._

He knew, in that case, he should take his time, wash himself slowly, so that when he returned to the room there wouldn't be anything to tempt him. Or maybe he should just not go back to the room tonight. He could stay with one of his friends, they all knew things were tense between Naruto and him, he doubted they would even question him. But he couldn't stop himself.

He went back to the room smelling of soap and shampoo, still feeling a bit sore, but feeling like now he wouldn't get so excited at something as simple as Naruto sleeping. But when he entered the room, the young man was still in his bed, and Sasuke very calmly set his clothes down and climbed into the bed wearing only his silk robe.

_Just for now…is it so wrong for me to want to hold him? To want him to hold me?_

He burrowed against the other man, sighing softly and feeling tears of happiness prick at the corners of his eyes. Even after what he'd just done, he was hardening again, just being this close to Naruto. After the time that had passed, after having to see him every day and not being able to touch him, left with only his memories, it was too much for him to resist.

"Sa…Sasuke?" Naruto's groggy voice cut through his thoughts, and he realized that it had been stupid to do this, and that Naruto would probably be angry with him, would probably kick him out and banish him from even being in the same room, because the simple truth was that Sasuke could not resist him.

"I'm sorry…I couldn't…" he tightened his grip around Naruto, not wanting to lose this comfort so swiftly. "I just…miss you so much."

"I miss you," Naruto wrapped his arms around Sasuke, who couldn't believe this was happening. "Please…I can't be what you want, I know that now, but I can at least give you this."

"Naruto…" Sasuke pulled back to look at his face, and he felt himself overwhelmed. _What's he saying? He's all I want…all I've ever wanted._ "What do you mean?"

Naruto leaned in then, and they were kissing, and this time, it was both of them, and it felt amazing. Sasuke was plunged back into the sensations that only Naruto had ever inspired in him, and was struck speechless by how _right_ it felt, by how perfect it was. Why had he ever settled for Orochimaru when this was his alternative? He pulled back, panting when he could no longer breathe.

"You…still want me after everything?" his voice cracked, and Naruto leaned in, kissing his forehead, kissing his eyelids, his cheeks, his jaw, and his lips.

"Stupid, I'll always want you, no matter what." Naruto breathed, and Sasuke let out a strangled sob. "I love you."

"I…I love you too!" he hiccupped slightly. "I'm sorry, I should never—"

"It's okay, it isn't your fault." Naruto told him, and Sasuke was dumbfounded, but he wasn't about to argue with the blonde, especially when he shoved the robe aside, pressing gentle, reverent kisses to every inch of flesh he uncovered. "I couldn't give you what you needed, but I'll do…whatever it takes to stay by your side."

_What does he mean?_

Sasuke wasn't really sure what Naruto was talking about, but was a little surprised when the young man kissed him everywhere, getting him completely hard again, and then returned to simply holding Sasuke. He had no problem with lying in each others' arms, but it had seemed like Naruto was getting ready to make love to him and had cut off early. He could tell Naruto was excited too, he could feel the length hot against his hip.

_He doesn't want to anymore…my body's been used, and he didn't really understand before. Now that he knows…_

That was okay. Even if Naruto would never have sex with him again, it would be okay, just be near him, to know that he loved him. He thought of what it would be like to tell Orochimaru he wouldn't be able to fool around with him anymore, and while he imagined it could get violent, he didn't care.

_This is where I belong._

--

To be continued…


	30. Chapter 30

Everything in Between

Everything in Between

Chapter 30

--

"And if you _ever_ do anything this idiotic again, you're on your own!" Temari hissed at Kankurou, leading him to his room with her hand holding his wrist as tightly as though it were a manacle. He could see that despite her obvious anger over what he'd done, she had been worried sick about him when he disappeared for so long. He had just been staying in a hotel, figuring that the dorms were too dangerous, and paying a classmate handsomely to send him his homework and hand it in and such, and also to not say a word about his whereabouts. He could have probably lasted the rest of the year there, but he'd have to actually come to the campus for midterms anyway, so he decided to just face the music. Sort of.

He wasn't a suicidal idiot, and he realized that at this point, everyone had probably figured out his ruse, thanks to Temari, so it was only fair that he get Temari to act as his ambassador, negotiating his safe return to the dorms. She had been able to speak to all of their friends, assuring them all that he was very sorry and would never ever do anything like that again. She insisted that he apologize to each one in person, and that was what they were working on now. As they worked their way from one room to the next, Temari kept up a steady stream of scolding, accompanied by many glares and a lot of finger shaking.

Temari wasn't the sibling he was afraid of, though. Just the thought of apologizing to Gaara made him feel vaguely queasy. Hopefully Temari would protect him.

"Hello, Sai!" Temari swept into the room, looking very pleased with herself. She seemed to relish Kankurou's discomfort with this situation, but then again, he supposed she must be rather upset with him as well, even if she wasn't pummeling him. "Look who's here!"

"Kankurou." Sai's lips compressed into a thin line, and Kankurou could tell that he desperately wanted to hit him, but was too honorable to go against whatever he had promised Temari. "You look well."

"I think Kankurou has something he wants to tell you." Temari prompted with a vicious glare in her brother's direction.

"Fine, fine," Kankurou grumbled. "I was going to, anyway." He cleared his throat. "Look, I'm sorry I said all that stuff, I'm sure Sakura really cares about you a lot, and I won't ever mess with you guys again."

"Apology accepted." Sai's lips were still pursed, and he turned back to his homework. Just then, the door burst open loudly, and Kankurou leapt in the air, sure it was someone out for his blood.

"Hello, Hinata," Temari smiled at the girl in the doorway, who ignored everyone else to storm up to Kankurou, her face looking more like Neji's than he had ever imagined possible, full of anger.

"You," she grabbed his collar and he gulped as the girl, almost a full foot shorter than him, suddenly seemed extremely intimidating. "You fiend!" And she pulled back with her other hand, reaching around and hitting him so hard he tasted blood in his mouth as he stumbled away from the petite girl who looked ready to hit him again. "I apologize, Temari." Hinata turned as though nothing had happened and gave a curt bow to his sister, who blinked in surprise before chuckling slightly and waving it off.

"Eh, I don't blame you." She shrugged. "I hit him, too, before he snuck away."

"Temari!" Kankurou cried out, clutching his face and wondering how he might regain his dignity after having several people witness him being very soundly hit by a tiny girl like Hinata. "You said this wouldn't happen!"

"I said I _hoped_ it wouldn't, but I can't control my friends like you seem to think I can." She told him, shaking her head in disappointment. "And honestly, you had that coming. "Seriously, it's bad enough messing with the rest of us, but who can look at Hinata and lie right to her face like that?"

"Oh, welcome back," Shikamaru was out in the hall, looking unconcerned with the happenings around him as usual. "I've been meaning to ask, was that your first time slipping date rape drugs to a guy? Because it seems like you're practiced."

"Temari!" Kankurou pouted, and she rolled her eyes.

"Okay, let's not be too harsh on the Grinch who stole Valentines Day. You see, when he realized he had to do his midterms or flunk out of college because of his own idiocy, his heart suddenly grew three sizes." Temari held her hands out in a pacifying gesture, but her words just made her brother more annoyed than ever.

"I can't believe I have to apologize to everyone _while_ I'm being made fun of." Kankurou grumbled.

"And hit by girls." Sai pointed out.

"Now even Sai is making fun of me…" Kankurou sighed heavily. "Maybe death would have been better."

"I know some people who'd be happy to help with that." Temari arched a brow, and Shikamaru chuckled, moving back down the hall toward his own room. Yes, he was upset with Kankurou, and he did think the other man's motives were inexcusably selfish, but at the same time, the whole thing was just a bit funny, when you got right down to it. Not that he'd tell Ino he was anything besides completely affronted at the whole situation. She had been even touchier than ever lately, and it was starting to be extremely troublesome. He figured he probably forgot their seven week anniversary or something ridiculous like that, and that's why he was being made to suffer, but eventually, she always got over those sorts of things, so he'd just ride it out.

--

"Are you kidding me right now?" Sakura hissed at Ino as they paused on a bench on their walk back from the café together. It was easier to talk about these things away from the house. "Well, if you haven't already told him, you need to do it soon. Like, as soon as we get home or something."

"Just because you're bursting to gossip about it doesn't mean you need to pressure me." Ino grumbled irritably. "I'll get around to it when I get around to it."

"I'm not _you_, Ino." Sakura rolled her eyes. "Yeah, it's kind of hard not to say anything, since _everyone_ wants to know what's up with you lately. And now they see us hanging out more, so they think I'll just spill the beans. And you can't talk about it like doing the dishes or something! You can't just put it off until whenever you feel like it."

"Why not?" Ino shrugged. "I don't _care_ what everyone thinks. This is happening to me, not to them, and if I want to tell them, I will, and until then, it's none of their business."

"It's Shikamaru's business, though!" Sakura pointed out emphatically. "You can't just leave the father out of the loop like this. He…he is the father, right?"

"Sakura!" Ino turned on her, looking furious. "You say one more word, and I _swear_ I will smack you silly. Of _course_ he is. Who else do you think I've been sleeping with?"

"I don't know!" Sakura threw up her hands. "But why won't you just tell him, then?"

"It's not really the normal conversation. Imagine it was you, would you really run and tell Sai as soon as you saw that test that you guys can expect some serious complications?" Ino asked, and Sakura paused, thinking about it. She still wasn't sure what she would do if the same thing happened to her. "Plus…I'm not even sure what I'm going to do yet. If I get rid of it, there's no reason to tell him."

"What?" Sakura was dumbstruck by this reasoning. "You're not even going to give him a say? It's his baby, too."

"Ugh, please don't use the b-word." Ino buried her face in her hands. "Well, I mean, it sucks! I can't drink, I can't have like eight coffees a day, if I wanted to take up smoking, that's out…this thing is cramping my style."

"Please tell me you're joking." Sakura turned to look at Ino, who burst into nervous laughter.

"I can't help it…I have to joke about this, because every time I think about it, it makes me want to cry." Ino told her. "And honestly, if I keep it, _what_ am I supposed to tell my parents?"

"Meet your grandchild?" Sakura hazarded. "You don't have to prepare a Nobel prize acceptance speech, Ino, you just have to tell them. Shikamaru, your parents, everyone."

"I could put it up for adoption." Ino pointed out. "Seems like such a waste to get fat for someone else's kid, though."

"Whatever you think is best, it's your…thing I'm not supposed to say." Sakura shook her head slightly. "But I really think it's better that you discuss it with Shikamaru before you do anything rash. I mean, I understand, it's your body, but it's not like that thing spontaneously generated."

"Your doctor talk is so reassuring." Ino teased, and Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Just…promise you'll tell him soon, okay?" she leaned forward, and Ino nodded slightly before her mouth went slack, and her eyes shifted, no longer looking at Sakura, but at something behind her. "What?" she turned to see what Ino was looking at and saw Sasuke stumbling toward them looking as though he had just been on the losing end of a rough fight.

"Sasuke!" Ino stood with Sakura, and they both rushed over to him as he eyed both girls warily. "What happened?"

"Were you in a fight?" Sakura asked, and he shrugged, looking very annoyed as they helped him back to the house.

"I'm fine." He told them. "I don't need help."

"Did Gaara decide to make sure you weren't sleeping with Neji after all?" Ino guessed, and Sasuke snorted with what they realized was actual laughter. "Then who did this?"

"It doesn't matter, it's over." Sasuke told them, and Sakura realized suddenly what was going on, and despite the situation, she couldn't stop the smile breaking out on her face.

"So…Naruto and you made up?" she asked, her voice quivering with excitement, and he blinked at her, clearly realizing that she'd made the connection. He hesitated a moment before nodding, and she sighed happily.

"Were you really sleeping with a professor?" Ino couldn't resist asking.

"Ino!" Sakura scolded her, while Sasuke shrugged noncommittally.

"Oh man! Was he like, super hot?" Ino clapped her hands together in excitement. "What's his name?"

"Ino, come on." Sakura gave her a look that Ino _hoped _meant she was going to fill her in on all the details later, and wasn't just a trick to get her to stop harassing Sasuke. If he didn't want to deal with her questions, he should try having a less tumultuous love life. For a moment, she wondered if, considering her own circumstances, she should back off a bit, but then again, she was having to deal with constant brow-beating from Sakura, so it wasn't really fair to spare Sasuke. "Leave him alone, now isn't the time."

"Fine, fine." Ino sighed, rolling her eyes. If Sakura knew something, she'd find out later. She really wanted to see this teacher who had come between Naruto and Sasuke, something she hadn't been able to do despite all of her efforts, first hand. For now, she settled on something else to interrogate him about. "So who beat the crap out of you?"

"Ino, hush, I'll talk to you about it later." Sakura chided the blonde, who was now feeling extremely put out, and very annoyed that Sakura either knew a lot more of this gossip than she did or was doing a very good job of acting like she did. Had this pregnancy thrown her completely out of touch? "Let's take the elevator since Sasuke's hurt." She suggested as they entered the house.

"I told you I'm fine." He grumbled, still getting onto the elevator with them despite his own protests. When they reached the third floor, they exited and turned toward Sasuke's room, but Sakura froze when she heard a familiar voice and turned around to see Kankurou walking toward them with his sister, who was wearing a look of mingled irritation and relief that he was still alive and had returned.

"You…" Sakura clenched her fist, and Kankurou looked at her with wide eyes, stepping behind Temari as though she were some sort of human shield. It did remind the pink-haired girl that she had promised not to beat the living daylights out of Kankurou, but before she could regain her composure completely, Sasuke, who had been limping along the moment before, flew at Kankurou with an inhuman snarl, and ended up tackling both of the siblings, Temari screeching for him to calm down.

"Sasuke, no!" Ino rushed over, but seeing how difficult he might be to restrain, couldn't help stepping back, a protective hand over her stomach. She flushed as she realized what she was doing and looked around in alarm to see if anyone had noticed, but the only one in the hall not rolling on the ground in combat at the moment already knew she was pregnant. "Sakura…do something!"

"What am I supposed to do?" Sakura threw up her hands. "You stop it! You all just stop it!" It was a mess, and it was hard to tell in the struggling mass of bodies who was hitting who, but she could hear the siblings both yelling, and Sasuke grunting whenever someone hit him. She was frankly amazed that in his state he could take any more punches.

"What's going on out here?" Gaara, drawn out into the hallway by all this noise just outside his door took one look at the fight and leapt in as well, hissing the word "bastard" as he flew at the trio, but Sakura had no idea whether he was referring to Sasuke, Kankurou, or both. She held onto a brief hope that Gaara's aim was to stop the fight, but it was clearly only escalating, so she called for backup.

"Neji!" she knew he was probably in the room as well, so she rushed to the partially open door and flushed to her roots to see the young man hastily pulling a sheet over his nude form. "Sorry, I…I mean, they're all fighting! Make them stop!" she stared intently at the ground. "Please." She added and left the room again, her face on fire.

"Oh my god, was he naked?" Ino took one look at Sakura's face and began laughing, but the pink-haired girl rushed past her, down the hall calling out for Naruto, who left his room at the sound of her distressed voice, and without needing any explanation, hurried over to the chaos in the middle of the hall.

"What's with all the noise out here?" Kiba had learned from past events that if he heard fighting, he should probably check it out, because while it might result in guys making out, it might _also_ involve Ino naked. "What happened?" he looked at the mass of fighting siblings and Sasuke only a bit down the hall from his room.

"Separate them!" Naruto attempted to do this as he shouted the directive, and ended up getting punched, he thought by Temari, but it was very hard to tell. "You guys stop it! Sasuke!"

"Maybe we should help…" Sakura stepped towards the group, but Ino grabbed her arm, shaking her head insistently.

"Maybe we should just let them do that until they get tired. I don't want anyone hitting me." She countered, and Sakura glanced at her stomach and nodded slightly before brushing off the hand. "Hey, you're delicate too!" Ino attempted, but Sakura leapt into the fray, and Kiba, knowing that there was little chance that Temari was going to become naked anytime soon, and not really wanting to think about the possibility of her wrestling naked with her brothers, anyway, stepped in as well. Ino did the only thing she could think of at the moment. "Shikamaru!"

He stumbled out of the room, glanced at her, and then grimaced at the sight of seven of his friends on the floor, trying to either hit each other or stop each other from being hit in turn. Ino shook her hands frantically, and he rolled his eyes, stepping in and grabbing Kankurou, who looked like the least angry, and therefore the least likely to hit him. Kiba managed to get Sasuke under control, although he had a look on his face like he was being forced to hold a venomous snake that he was quite sure would bite him any moment, and Sakura took Temari, since she was thinking that would be the only one small enough for her to subdue. Gaara was smaller than the other men, but he looked rabid at the moment, so she decided not to even touch him. That was left to Naruto, who was bleeding, and just barely keeping Gaara from escaping when Neji finally came out of his room, took one look at what was going on and shook his head at Gaara.

"You promised." He nodded to Kankurou. "It's okay, we all want to hit him, but he is your brother, after all."

"Sasuke punched Temari!" Gaara growled, and Naruto very nearly lost his hold on the redhead as he looked at his boyfriend in shock and his captive renewed struggling.

"I didn't want to! She bit me!" Sasuke snarled back. "Keep your boyfriend on a leash, Hyuuga."

"Oh please, you're the one who started it!" Temari shot back. "You swore you wouldn't attack him!"

"I didn't swear." Sasuke retorted coldly. "If you'll recall, you asked me to swear and I walked away."

"Well, you didn't say no!" she snapped. "I know he did something crappy, and we all want revenge, but does it make things any better to just start beating the shit out of each other?"

"I knew I shouldn't have come back." Kankurou groaned, and Shikamaru flicked his ear, annoyed at all this. "Hey, you're supposed to protect me!"

"Come on, you drugged him, do you really think he _wants_ to help you out?" Ino pointed out. "Be happy your sister is vouching for you, or you'd be so dead right now."

"I'm sorry Sasuke attacked you," Naruto was trying to contain his own anger, and found that it helped to concentrate on keeping Gaara from escaping. "But did you have to beat him up so badly?"

"He was like that already!" Temari claimed.

"It's true, actually." Sakura pointed out from behind her. "Ino and I walked him home when we saw him like that."

"Sasuke, what…" Naruto's face went pale, and he momentarily forgot to hold onto Gaara, who flew at Sasuke once more, knocking Kiba and his target to the ground before Neji stepped in, grabbing Gaara's collar and pulling so hard there was a loud ripping of fabric, and Gaara stumbled back. Neji pinned him, and then kissed him so thoroughly that everyone felt that it was a bit inappropriate to watch, and the situation seemed to diffuse a bit. At least, when Gaara was released, he didn't try to tear Sasuke to shreds again, he just stared up at Neji and asked Temari if she was okay.

"I'm fine, thanks." She was very surprised that Gaara had not joined the fight simply to beat up Kankurou, but in fact to defend her, and she felt like if she looked at him directly, she might start crying, so she was instead looking at the ground, since looking at Sasuke annoyed her, anyway.

"That's good," her younger brother's voice was softer than any tone she'd ever heard from him, and she heard the sounds of Neji and him continuing to kiss.

"Come on, you guys have a room for that stuff." Kankurou complained. "I do _not_ want to see that." Neji whispered something into Gaara's ear, stared at him a long moment to verify he was safe, and then they both went back into their room as though there had been no fight at all. Shikamaru could see that Kankurou was not going to try to fight anymore, so he pushed the other man away in a heap, stood back up, and gestured for Ino to follow him.

"That's enough of other people fighting for the day," he told her as they walked back to his room. "I've had enough from you to last me the rest of my life." She made an annoyed noise, but followed him anyway.

"Are we done?" Kiba struggled out from under Sasuke. "Or should I get Hinata out here?"

"Shut up." Kankurou stood, trying to look dignified. "I said I was sorry, no one needs to get so angry."

"You have no _idea_ what I went through because of your stupid shit." Sasuke stood, clenching his fists, and Naruto was too busy staring at his own hands to do anything, so Sakura released Temari and stood between the two.

"That's enough now." She told Sasuke. "Look at how much you've upset Naruto! Do you really think it makes him happy to see you hurting other people, seeing you _get_ hurt?"

"You don't know…" he gritted his teeth, trailing off as he saw the odd look on Naruto's face as he looked up slowly, and blinked at them all, seeming vaguely as though he might be sick, or maybe was about to pass out. "Naruto…"

"It was him, wasn't it?" Naruto's voice was shaky. "He did that to you."

"Naruto…" Sasuke found that as much as he wanted to pummel Kankurou for his part in all of this, that desire was overwhelmed by his need to hold Naruto, to kiss him and tell him everything was all right, and to have Naruto assure him that indeed, everything _was_ all right. "Let's go." He reached for the blonde's hand, but when he held it, it just lay there, not returning his grip at all. It was as though Naruto did not want to touch him, but was stopping himself just short of pulling away. He pulled Naruto back to their room that way, feeling a little bit afraid of what might happen once he reached his goal. Had Naruto changed his mind?

"Tell me," Naruto's voice was strangely calm when the door was closed. "Tell me."

"Okay, yes, it was him." Sasuke admitted. He didn't want to talk about it in front of the others, and frankly, he didn't want to talk about it to Naruto, either, but he didn't have it in him to lie to his lover.

"Okay." Naruto nodded, let out a deep breath, and went over to his own bed, the one that had once been Shikamaru's, and the one he had slept in while Sasuke and he were not together. Just seeing Naruto collapse on that bed, his back to Sasuke, made his heart clench painfully.

"But…it's not like before." Sasuke told him, and heard the sound of a stifled sob. "Naruto, don't you believe me?" he didn't know what to do or to say to make the blonde trust him again, after everything that had happened.

"You don't have to," Naruto sniffled slightly as Sasuke climbed onto the bed, reaching out a shaky hand to touch his shoulder, afraid that he would be rejected. "I knew this time…knew about you two, and I can't…I can't do those things. Even if you want me to…I couldn't hurt you that way, so I knew I could only ever…only ever have part of you, since I couldn't be the man you need." He scrubbed at his eyes, attempting to stem the flow of tears. "I know that you're with him, too, and that's okay. You don't have to hide it."

"What are you saying?" Sasuke shook his head, baffled. "You thought…thought I'd be with you and still go to him?"

"W—well," Naruto hiccupped slightly and took a deep breath. Why was he crying so much? He knew about this already! Why was he getting upset now? "When I s—saw you that time…I realized that I must not…must not be giving you everything you needed, and so…even though you l—loved me, you had to get it somewhere else, and when I saw the b—bruises…all those times…those times you were saying I could be rougher…that's what you meant, wasn't it? You wanted me to…to hit you like that, to just…just put it in you without even…and I know that some people like that, and I don't want you to think it makes me think any less of you…because, I mean, if I can't give you what you need, then you have to go somewhere else, don't you? I just…I love you too much to keep being angry, and I have to just remember…I chose this. I chose to let you go to someone else, and if I can give you something that he can't…if I can stay with you…I'll have to learn to be satisfied with this." He wiped away his tears again and turned, smiling at Sasuke, a fake smile, forced and completely transparent to the other man. "So don't worry, it's okay. I just think…it hurts me to see you being hurt…and even though I know why, I can't make my mind just—"

"Idiot." Sasuke cut him off then. He'd been too dumbfounded to speak before, but he finally found his voice. "Idiot. Did you think when you saw us…did you think I'd been doing that all along? Since we were still together?" Naruto blinked, unable to find it in him to respond to Sasuke when he was so full of emotion. This was one of the things he had missed the most when they had been apart, seeing Sasuke this way…thinking that professor was getting to see this now…it had torn him up inside. "Do you think if you won't tie me up and whip me, I'll leave you for someone else? Don't you remember, I told you before you, I'd never topped anyone before. I told you I could handle rough treatment, that I was used to it, you could do it as hard as you wanted. Do you think since I said those things that was the only way I wanted sex? Shoved down and fucked hard, smacked around and cast aside? Do you really think I want you to hit me, to tell me I'm worthless and kick me out of the room when you're done with me? You think that's what I want?"

"I…I don't know." Naruto could tell Sasuke was upset, and he was a little worried that he was trying to start a fight. He couldn't handle another fight right now, he was so afraid of losing Sasuke, and it hurt bad enough knowing that he was sacrificing even his right to Sasuke's single-minded devotion just to be near him. He couldn't believe he would be the sort to let someone fool around on him and just keep on going like nothing had happened. Was he really worth so little? But then…the thought of losing him…that hurt so much worse…it seemed there was no right choice.

"Then I'll tell you the truth about all of it, because it's stupid for there to be anything misunderstood between us when there doesn't have to be." Sasuke ran his fingers through Naruto's bangs, trying to reassure the blonde that everything was fine, but those blue eyes he loved so much were full of fear and doubt. "I do love you, that's true. And yes, I do like rough sex. I'm not going to lie and make it all sunshine and roses for you, but the fact of the matter is that I _need_ you, and I don't _need_ anything else. When you lose control, it feels great to me, but it's not just because I like it rough, it's because I can see you…see you just unable to hold back, and I know that you love me and it feels like…the most amazing thing, to know that you care about me at all, and to know that I make you that hot for me…but you know, it wouldn't be the same if it weren't you. No matter how slow we go, or how fast, more amazing than the sex is just being next to _you_. Naruto, before I was with you, I didn't understand why people cuddled. I thought it was gross, snuggling against each other when you're sweaty and covered in all that mess, but with you…nothing about you is gross to me, and I don't think it ever will be, and more than that, you make me feel like…like I'm worth something…like I'm special, because you want to be with me, and not anyone else. And I would never turn my back on that…and when I was with Orochimaru…in my mind, we were already over. I thought you were with Gaara, and that you'd moved on, and I would just have to learn to deal with it, and I wanted something to distract me from how badly that hurt. He was happy to help me out there, but that time you saw…that was our first time, and I don't want you to think that I went to him because you weren't giving me something. I went to him because I wanted to dull the pain of having lost you already, and the reason he beat the shit out of me today was because I told him that I'm with you again, and our relationship has to be purely professional. So understand that, and believe me. I understand if you're still angry with me, but please…let me prove myself to you, I just…just want things to be the way they were before."

"Sasuke…" Naruto sighed, reaching up to brush away the wetness in the corners of his lover's eyes. "You say all that because I'm right here. I know you care about me, so of course you don't want me to be sad. I know that it's stupid for me to think that I'd be able to satisfy you. You've been having sex for years already, and I only started months ago, so I shouldn't get so upset, knowing there are things you're used to that I can't do, and I'll just have to be happy—"

"Stop it!" Sasuke was suddenly on top of him, pinning him down, where before he'd just been leaning over him. "Stop saying that! Look, I know that you don't want to have sex with me anymore because of what you saw, and it's fine, okay! Didn't I tell you before, I don't care if you never have sex with me, if you just stay with me? Didn't I? Obviously what you saw upset you, and I could tell before, it looked like you were going to be sick. Honestly, I'm grateful just that you'll let me touch you at all, cause I can tell you think I'm disgusting. I knew you'd think that someday…I mean, I slept with my own brother! I've been with so many people, and I just let them do whatever they wanted, let them use me, and I think you probably told yourself it wasn't really that bad, that I didn't like it at all, or that it wasn't as bad as I made it sound, but now that you've seen what I'm like, you know, and you can't stand it…can't stand me…so just…I told you everything, I told you exactly how I feel, so just please tell me the truth…are you going to leave me?"

Naruto blinked as a fat teardrop hit his forehead and Sasuke's lip quivered as he attempted to hold his emotions in check. "I don't think that." He answered, his voice confused. "How could I ever…ever think you were disgusting? Of course I was upset when I saw that. You were with another man. Was I supposed to be happy? And you…you wanted him, I could see that, and it just…just. Yeah, I assumed you guys had been doing that all along, but it didn't make me sick. It made me feel…like I was the biggest idiot ever, for ever thinking I could be enough for you, and I could see everything I'd built up around us just falling apart and I…I was so surprised. Later, when I thought about it, I knew I should have seen it coming. I know what I look like, I know I'm plain. And I'm not a genius or anything. I'm good at photography, I guess, but who falls in love with someone for just that? And you…you're good at everything you try, and you look…so perfect. Your face, your body, and you even dress well. I just throw on whatever, but you always look perfect. Why would you even want me? What can I possibly give you? And why would I ever leave you? I love you."

"I wish you could see what everyone else sees." Sasuke fell against him, burrowing his face into Naruto's neck, relieved to hear that Naruto had no plans to leave him, and shocked to hear that he didn't find Sasuke disgusting. "Why do you think we all care so much about you? Did you know when we got together people told me that if I hurt you, they'd kick the shit out of me?"

"No they didn't." Naruto flushed, and Sasuke shifted so he was looking down at him again.

"Yes they did." He confirmed. "Besides, don't offend my aesthetics by saying you aren't good-looking. You think that I get turned on by how fast you can load a camera?" Naruto laughed, and Sasuke began to feel like they might finally be starting to get over some of the strife caused by the past month, but he couldn't resist one last question. "So if you really think that, why didn't you have sex with me last night? You were hard, and I wanted you, but you stopped it from going any further."

"I was afraid…you wouldn't be able to…because I can't do the things he does to you." Naruto admitted, his face beet red. "I thought you'd just…we'd start, and you'd get annoyed and just push me away or something."

"So…you really don't think I'm a sicko?" Sasuke confirmed, and Naruto shook his head. "Thank god, I thought I'd never get to have sex with you ever again." He kissed Naruto then, desperately as though finally being given permission to kiss him after an eon of being denied the right, but when he pulled away, he saw the hesitation in Naruto's face. "What?"

"I just…are you sure you want me?" he asked. "After…after what you're used to with him, I must seem so…boring."

"You could never be boring." Sasuke kissed his forehead. "Do you think I was faking all those other times we had sex?"

"I…didn't know what to think." Naruto admitted. "But I mean…don't you expect me to do…do things like that to you?"

"If I wanted to be with Orochimaru, I'd go be with him right now." Sasuke assured him. "You're the one I want, you're the only one I want. He was…I might have liked it more if it had been before you, but now that I've been with you…now that I know what it is to actually make love to someone, to feel like they're the only thing in the world that matters…it just seemed hollow."

"So…you really don't want me to like, tie you up and hit you and stuff?" Naruto frowned.

"Well…that tying up thing might be nice, but no, I don't want you to hit me. I like the way you treat me…like a person instead of just…just some sort of hole." Sasuke flushed. "The whole time I was with him…every time he'd hurt me or do something cruel…I just thought of how you would never…never do that to me, and I felt so disgusted with myself, so dirty…"

"Is that why you were showering all the time?" Naruto's eyes widened. "I thought that was weird, I couldn't figure it out."

"Yeah." Sasuke admitted. "I was afraid you would smell something or just…be able to tell, and I could see you in my mind…making faces like you were sick, and everyone was telling me I shouldn't do it anymore, but if you had told me…I knew I'd just stop. I couldn't go against you."

"Geez, I should've just said that in the beginning." Naruto sighed, smiling sadly. "Would've saved so much trouble."

"Really." Sasuke kissed Naruto and smiled as the other man kissed him back.

--

To be Continued…


	31. Chapter 31

Everything in Between

Everything in Between

Chapter 31

--

"Shit," Tenten burrowed through her top drawer. "Hey, Ino?"

"Hm?" Ino was packing her things for spring break, preoccupied with the thought of being around her parents for a week and knowing she would need to hurry up and tell them soon, so her roommate wasn't exactly the top of her priority list.

"Can I steal a tampon from you?" Tenten asked, giggling slightly. Ino rolled her eyes. Every month, it seemed, the other girl forgot she was getting her period until it came and then was caught without supplies and had to take some of Ino's.

_I wish I could ignore mine that easily. And she's on the pill, you'd think she'd see the big group of green pills and be like "oops, time to buy more tampons."_

"Fine." Ino shrugged. At least this way someone was using them. Otherwise, her supply would probably grow cobwebs unless she changed her mind and decided to get rid of the baby. She wondered if the hormones were just making her unable to think clearly, but for some reason, she'd realized she just couldn't bear the thought of killing it. It seemed…well, she didn't really have a problem with abortion, but somehow…because it was Shikamaru's, maybe…

_What, like he's going to find out and want to get married and buy a house or something. And then we can go get a dog and he can get some mediocre job and pretend not to hate me for ruining my life. Excellent._

"Um…" Tenten was next to her, digging through Ino's bottom drawer, and when she pulled out the box of tampons, she frowned at Ino. "Is this…a new box?"

"No, why?" she set down her socks and looked over to see if indeed spiders had started nesting in her tampon box, as if to mock her.

"Ino…" Tenten went pale, glanced at the box, and glanced back at her roommate. "Are you pregnant?"

"What?" Ino didn't have to affect surprise, she had no idea how Tenten would know unless Sakura really had spilled the beans, despite all her promises. "What are you talking about?"

"It's just…there were this many the last time I got my period, so I wondered." Tenten held out the relatively full box. "That, or you use like fifty every time. Oh man…and you've been really pissy! You are, aren't you?"

"Tenten…" Ino didn't know what to do, what to say, she felt like she was being trapped. If Tenten could figure it out this easily, she really _would _have to hurry up and tell Shikamaru, or he'd definitely figure it out.

"And! And!" Tenten was clutching the box as if it was holding all sorts of answers if she just let it guide her to them. "You keep getting sick! You puke all the time! And you told me that I can't eat in here cause the smell makes you sick, but it never bothered you before! And I thought, oh, you have the flu, but you're fine most of the time, and you're going to class, and even though you've lose a little weight, I thought you'd just get better and then…plus…you quit coffee! Oh my god, you _must_ be pregnant! You love coffee, and you told me you'd never quit…and you quit!"

"I…I haven't told anyone." Ino caved. Tenten had far too much evidence, and if she told her she was imagining things, she'd probably discuss it with Shikamaru to compare notes, and then she'd be in serious trouble. It was one thing lying to Tenten about it, but she couldn't lie to him…and she wanted him to hear it from her first. If only she could figure out how to tell him. "Except Sakura, she was there when I did the test, she knows. But you can't…you _can't_ tell anyone, not even Shino, okay?"

"How far are you?" Tenten was on her knees now, her hand on Ino's stomach. "Not very, you don't even have a bump yet. What are you going to do? Have you told Shikamaru?"

"Tenten! I'm serious!" Ino felt foolish when tears spilled down her face, but at this point, she was just starting to take her hormonal outbursts for granted. "You have to swear."

"You…you haven't told him yet?" Tenten suddenly looked very solemn. "Is it his?" she whispered the question, and Ino took a deep breath, trying desperately to maintain control of her temper.

"Of _course_ it is!" she hissed. "Why does everyone ask me that?"

"Well, I don't know!" Tenten held up her hands defensively as she stood. "Sorry, I didn't mean anything by it, I just think it's weird. How long have you known? Did you like, just find out?"

"A week ago." Ino told her finally. "And trust me, it makes it much harder to do midterms when you're freaking out about your unplanned pregnancy the whole time. I wouldn't recommend it."

"You guys use condoms though, right?" Tenten made a face as though she was concerned she was going to be hit again. "Did you suspect anything? Like, you were using them right, right?"

"Of course! I'm not an idiot!" Ino took a deep breath again. "I kept meaning to get on the pill, though. I figured we could have like a regular, committed type relationship, like Shino and you. I guess I don't really need to worry about that now."

"The pill's way better." Tenten nodded. "I'm still not pregnant."

"You aren't really making me feel better." Ino sighed. "Just take your tampon and go. Take them all, in fact. That box has clearly forsaken me."

"Are you going to keep it?" Tenten asked. "How are you going to take care of it?"

"I don't know, okay!" Ino told her. "Just leave me alone!" and because she knew that Tenten would probably just keep asking her questions, she left, going to Shikamaru's room.

She really liked this room, full of people that did not know she was pregnant, but at the same time…she wanted for Shikamaru to just…just _know_, and to have some perfect solution, like he always did for things, and for everything to be okay, and to not have to worry about it anymore. But at least in here no one questioned her life choices.

"Hey, thought you were packing." Shikamaru was clearly "packing" as well. His suitcase was out, sitting next to a pile of fresh laundry. Ino was pretty sure he was planning to just lift the mess of clothes and dump the lot in the suitcase. "You finished already?" he ignored the tedium of his laundry stack to kiss her, and she forced a smile.

"Just taking a break. Tenten's all hyped up for some reason, I had to get out of there before I smacked her." Ino told him, flopping down on his bed. "Did you finish that paper?"

"I'll do it." He told her, smiling in a mischievous way that usually meant that he was procrastinating and apparently thought it was cute or something. "Don't rush me."

"I thought you said it was due today?" she asked, a bit irritated at his flippant attitude. How could she even think about keeping the baby? He couldn't even do his homework, how was he supposed to be trusted with something as monumental as being a parent.

_Unless I just raise it myself._

She thought her parents' reaction would be either to disown her, or to offer to help. She had a hard time seeing anything in between, but she couldn't just rely on them. She was an adult, and she'd gotten herself to this point, so she would have to deal with the consequences.

_I should have slept with someone more responsible and serious. Like…wait, actually, I think sadly Shikamaru is probably the most responsible and serious guy I know. That's really sad._

"It's due today at six." He corrected. "I've got two hours."

"Shikamaru! That's like fifteen percent of your grade! Have you even started it?" She was very alarmed at his attitude.

"Eh." He shrugged, "It's not a big deal, I'll just like, whip something together and they'll never know."

"Then get started now!" she pushed him away from her as he attempted to climb on the bed with her. "You don't have time for me, you need to do your work! You need to learn to set priorities!"

"Oh great, Ino's here." Kiba stopped in the doorway, about to enter the room, turned on his heel, and left.

"What was _that_?" she gestured to the doorway, and Shikamaru chuckled nervously, shrugging.

"It's nothing, he probably just wants an excuse to go hang out with Hinata." He told her. "Don't take it personally."

"He said my name! Of course I'm going to take it personally!" she stood up, huffy and angry. "You don't think about _anything!_"

"Well maybe," Shikamaru pursed his lips, "you should try being my girlfriend instead of my naggy mother."

"At least I know what that means!" Ino burst into tears and ran out of the room, shaking all over. She was angry with him, but on top of that…more and more, every time they fought, she kept thinking that he was going to declare her too troublesome and dump her, and then she really _would_ be alone with this…this…

_Baby…it's a baby. And it's mine._

"Ino!" Sakura saw her as she came out of her own room. "Everything okay?"

"Just stupid Shikamaru being stupid." She brushed away her tears. Everyone was getting used to them at this point, and she wasn't sure whether or not that only annoyed her more. "No big deal."

"Does he…know?" she asked quietly, and Ino threw up her hands.

"No! Now get off my case!" she stormed away, and Sakura bit her lip, staring after her friend in concern. She wandered down the hall, deep in thought, not that surprised when she found herself at Sai's door. She knocked and went in to see Kankurou, who was still flinching every time someone came in the room, and Sai, who was neatly rolling up clothes to put in his suitcase. She had invited him to meet her parents, and he had been amazingly excited about the prospect, seeming more cheerful than ever. Sakura had never heard of a man acting this way before, so she had been a bit concerned at first, but then again, Sai was Sai.

"Hello, Sakura!" he greeted her happily, "I am almost all packed."

"I see that." She couldn't help smiling back at him. "When you're done, do you want to go get some coffee or something?"

"That sounds very fun." He nodded solemnly. "I have been working on midterms very hard, and now would be an excellent time to decompress, as it were. I will even pay for you, since you are inviting me to your home."

"You don't have to." She flushed at his excuse. He almost always paid for her, always making up dumb excuses if she questioned him at all. "I have money."

"I know." He assured her. "I like to pay for you. You work very hard for your money, and my parents just give me the money I have, so I would rather pay for you than have you waste your hard work."

"Don't start making out while I'm in here." Kankurou looked up from where he was frantically finishing up a lab report. "I have to get this done."

"We wouldn't want to sabotage _you_, Kankurou." Sakura told him dryly, and he pursed his lips, knowing there wasn't much he could say, and that he really didn't have time to be arguing with people. After a few minutes, Sai zipped up his suitcase.

"All done! It's coffee time!" he clapped an arm around her shoulder, escorting her out of his room, down the hall, and downstairs. "Ah, it is wonderful not to need a coat, don't you think?" he asked, when they stepped out into the late afternoon sunlight. It had been warm today, for the first time in a long time, and she had been surprised to find herself too hot in her coat earlier.

"It is nice." She sighed, leaning into his shoulder, happier to feel his warmth than she was to feel the sun's warmth on her face.

"Sakura, you seem preoccupied." Sai spoke again as he held the door for her at the café. "Was there a problem with one of your exams?"

"No, my exams went well." She told him, "I just…things have been really tense lately, it'll be nice to get away, but at the same time, I just can't help worrying about everyone."

"Sasuke and Naruto seem to be doing better." Sai pointed out, knowing that was a concern for her.

"They do, but…" she sighed heavily, and trailed off as they ordered their drinks. Lee smiled at her and glared at Sai, as usual. It was almost like every day to him was the first day he found out that Sakura and Sai were together. It could be tiresome, but she'd gotten used to it at this point.

"Sai," she spoke again once they were seating, and Sai blinked at her expectantly. It was clear he had been waiting for her to talk this time. "What would you do if I told you I was pregnant?"

"Are you?" Sai's mouth became very small, and his eyes became large.

"No, it's a hypothetical question." She told him. "But if I was, you'd want to know, right?"

"Well, it would be my child, so I suppose that I should know about it." Sai told her very carefully. "Do you…need to tell me anything?"

"No, I just mean, if I _did_ tell you, like if I was." Sakura explained. "But I'm not. If I was, though, what would you do?"

"I do not think I am ready to be a father." He told her thoughtfully. "However, I have learned how to be a boyfriend, and I seem to be doing an acceptable job at that, so I believe I could learn to be a father as well."

"So you'd want me to keep it?" Sakura asked.

"Keep it?" Sai frowned. "What else would you do with it?"

"Well, there are a lot of options. The obvious three would be that I could either get an abortion, give it up for adoption, or keep it."

"Oh yes, adoption, I am surprised I did not think of that." Sai tapped his chin. "Since I was adopted. What is an abortion?"

"Um…you're joking, right?" Sakura frowned. "Did your parents not let you watch the news at all, either?"

"We do not have a television at home, I have told you." He explained. "What is it?"

"Well…I wish I could be surprised, but then again, your mom really seems not to want to expose you to…well, anything." Sakura sighed heavily. "It's…well, sometimes people get pregnant, but they have circumstances…do you know what a miscarriage is?"

"Yes, they were very frequent in previous years, due to a lot of sinning, and poor medical care. It is when the baby comes early and does not live, correct?" Sai told her eagerly, and she rubbed her forehead slightly. She was seriously starting to be afraid of Sai's parents.

"Basically." She conceded. "Well, an abortion is a medical procedure to make that happen with a baby before it can be born, so it never is."

"So…it is baby killing?" Sai frowned and looked thoughtful. "Wait…I think I have heard of this…my mother said that some women try to cheat God, and they will make babies they do not want to keep. I remember now. Yes, abortion, I have heard of that."

"Well, there can be good reasons, and sometimes a woman just can't afford to have a baby." Sakura attempted to explain, not sure she was happy with whatever Sai's mother had told him. "And like, what if she's forced, and she never planned it? Or what if it's a serious health risk? Women can have abortions for a lot of reasons, it doesn't mean they're just sinners."

"Sakura, are you getting an abortion?" Sai narrowed his eyes as he began to piece the conversation together.

"No, I told you, this is all hypothetical." She told him, a bit exasperated. "But if I _was_, what would you think?"

"Well…" Sai thought this over some more. "Did I force you?"

"No, no, I told you this is hypothetical. Let's just say, because if I have the baby, it would be hard to stay in college, wouldn't it?" she pointed out.

"My parents could raise it." He told her. "They are good at raising other people's babies."

"Sai…never mind." Sakura shook her head. "I have to go finish packing."

"I will walk you back." He stood up, and she went back to the house with him, in silent contemplation. He left her at her room, kissing her and making one last attempt. "I think that if you were pregnant, it would be a shame to kill the baby, as it would be an excellent baby, I think."

"Thanks, Sai." She chuckled, hugging him and waving him away. She felt much better, even though she was now more terrified than ever of his mother.

Sai, however, felt very concerned. He went back to his room as he thought over all that they had discussed. "Kankurou," he told his roommate as soon as he sat down, staring at his suitcase. "I am concerned."

"About what?" Kankurou was vaguely amazed that Sai wanted to share his concerns with him after what had happened, but he decided not to worry about it, since Sai was just a naturally good guy.

"I believe that Sakura may be pregnant." Sai told him, and Kankurou made a horrible hissing noise.

"Oooh, game killer." He shook his head, a look of sympathy on his face. "Get out of there now, man. If you leave before she actually tells you, later, you can be like, "that's not my kid, we were already broken up, that could be anyone's kid" and that way you don't have to pay child support. Oh, and don't let her trick you into a paternity test, that'll fuck you over."

"I do not intend to leave her." Sai frowned. "I am concerned, because I believe she is planning on killing our baby."

"She wants…oh, you mean an abortion?" Kankurou nodded. "Sweet, bonus round, dude. Yeah, tell her it's an awesome idea."

"I do not want to kill our baby." Sai told him. "I want to see it grow and flourish, I want to raise it together with Sakura, and see how it is a perfect mixture of both of us, and learn what it is to be a father."

"That's really sweet, man." Kankurou sighed. "Do that when you're forty, like riiiiight when you just start to get fat, so that you can't really play the field anymore. Otherwise, that shit'll never work out."

"Don't listen to him!" Temari's muffled voice was soon followed by her barging into the room. "Sai, if you want her to keep the baby, you have to tell her! It's your baby, too, and you shouldn't just let her do whatever without at least telling her what you want. Maybe she actually wants to keep it, and she's only thinking about abortion because she doesn't think she can ask you to help her raise it. I mean, it's a huge responsibility."

"How far is she?" Kankurou asked. "Cause you know, you can still have sex until the third trimester, so you should probably get it in before she gets really fat. Plus, after she has a baby, she'll never be the same down there. It'll be all flappy and—"

"I will _seriously_ kill you." Temari had smacked Kankurou upside the head, a rather regular occurrence. "What is wrong with you? Do you even hear the things you say?"

"What? I'm just telling him to watch out." Kankurou pointed out. "Oh, and it could be she's just faking the pregnancy, and next thing you know, she wants a ring, and then soon as you guys are married, 'oh no, I lost the baby,'" he affected a high voice. "And you'll _never_ know. So watch out."

"Sakura's a freshman in college." Temari pointed out. "Why in the world would she decide now is the ideal time for marriage?"

"Well, look at Sai, he's hot property, he could get with lots of ladies." Kankurou explained. "So she's locking up the garage before everyone gets a test drive. See?"

"I am confused. Am I a car or a house?" Sai frowned.

"Neither, don't listen to Kankurou; he has _never_ given you good advice, and he clearly isn't starting now." Temari told him with finality. "Just talk to her!" and with that, she patted his head like he was a star pupil, glared at Kankurou, and swept back out of the room.

"I really hate living next to her." Kankurou complained, and at the thump on the wall, he rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I _meant_ for you to hear that!"

--

"Solo chess again, the sign of a frustrated man." Temari teased that evening when she walked into the kitchen downstairs and saw Shikamaru sitting at a table by himself with a chess board, his brow furrowed. He gestured vaguely at a chair and she took up the side opposite him. "Oh great, I'm losing already, this should be quick."

"Want to switch?" he asked. "I'll still beat you in four moves."

"Braggart." She rolled her eyes and made a move. "So, did you get that paper done?"

"In the professor's hands at 5:58." He smiled slightly. "Plenty of time."

"Such a procrastinator." She considered his move and then put her hand on a piece, thinking it through before moving again. "How's Queen of Yelling?"

"I don't know what she's so pissed about." He sighed. "She's driving me crazy. I'd ask, but then she'd just get more pissed. Maybe she wants me to hit your brother?"

"Everyone else has, go for it." She clicked her tongue, staring at the board. "Today, he was being such an ass. Apparently Sakura's pregnant, and Sai thinks she wants to get an abortion, and he's sitting there 'oh yeah, do it, dodge the bullet,' that sort of thing…I honestly just want to give up on him sometimes."

"Sakura's _pregnant_?" Shikamaru was surprised by that. "I thought she was still…um…"

"No, they started having sex a bit ago." Temari nodded understandingly at his confusion. "Yeah, Sai was talking about how he wanted to keep it, and Kankurou's telling him it's a huge mistake, all this. I thought Sai was sweet, though. He said he wanted to raise it with her, to learn what it was to be a father…all this other stuff. I wish I could trade sometimes, I'm sure he's a much better brother, as well."

"Don't get started hitting on other girl's boyfriends." Shikamaru warned her. "Nothing but trouble."

"Yeah, I've noticed," she took another move, and immediately regretted it as he moved into position.

"Checkmate." He sighed at the board. "That's crazy though…can you imagine being pregnant right now?"

"What would you do?" Temari asked. "If Ino was pregnant?"

"That is why I use condoms." Shikamaru told her. "So that I don't have to even _think_ about that."

"Yeah, but what if…" she trailed off, as Ino walked into the kitchen, saw them playing chess, and came over, her hands on her hips.

"Hey," he pulled out the chair next to him, "done packing?"

"Did you _ever_ finish your paper?" she asked. "Or were you to busy flirting with Temari?"

"Ino, god," Shikamaru slumped back in his chair, groaning. "We were just talking, gimme a break here. And _yes_, I did get it done with time to spare."

"Two minutes." Temari felt a little weird around Ino, especially after Valentines' Day, but she was making a concerted effort to not let it show. "I think he sees a deadline as a challenge. Turn it in as close to the time given as possible without going over. Like Price is Right, kind of."

"Hm." Ino frowned at her, taking the seat next to Shikamaru. "Why are you playing chess down here? You could have come to my room."

"You're packing, I don't want to bug you." He told her. "Wanna play now that you're here?"

"Oh great, don't strain yourself. The intimacy is too much." Ino still took the first move, despite her grumbling.

"So did you hear about Sakura?" Shikamaru asked. "Temari was just telling me."

"What?" Ino blinked, confused.

"That she's pregnant." Temari explained. "Sai told me earlier."

"Oh…oh." Ino wondered if she looked as pale as she felt, or if her reaction to this seemed in any way suspicious. At the same time her mind was working a million miles a minute, trying to figure out if this was true, how it could be, and why Sakura hadn't said anything to her after being the only one Ino had trusted with her secret. Well, now Tenten knew, but that was because she was clearly too nosy. Keeping track of the number of tampons…seriously. "Wow. So, what's she going to do?" she decided that if nothing else, she might be able to use this as an opportunity to gauge Shikamaru's attitude toward pregnancy.

"Sai thinks she wants to give it up." Temari said. "But he wants to keep it, so I told him he should talk to her."

"That…they should talk about that." Ino nodded absently, making a move without even thinking. Shikamaru captured her queen and she blinked at the board.

"She wanted to know what I'd do if you were pregnant." Shikamaru laughed, as though this were a great joke. "I told her that's why we use condoms."

"Those don't _always_ work, you know." Temari pointed out.

"The fail rate is for idiots who don't put them on right." Shikamaru responded, moving a piece. "Like either of us could handle a freaking kid. I'd probably pawn it off on Hinata, she'd probably take care of it. Or you, you like taking care of things."

"It's not a hamster, Shikamaru." Temari rolled her eyes. "Are you even hearing this, Ino?"

"I…yeah." Ino felt weird, the air was thick and her heart was thundering in her ears, making everyone's words quiet by comparison. "Is it…it's a little hot in here, isn't it?"

"It was really warm today." Shikamaru shrugged. "You're just used to it being freezing."

"Should I crack a window?" Temari asked, and Ino nodded slightly, her head feeling fuzzy and heavy, her tongue dry.

"Do you feel okay?" Shikamaru looked at her in concern then. "You look a little pale."

"Just tired, you know." She smiled weakly, and concentrated on breathing. She looked up, moving a piece at random, and Shikamaru looked at her as though she'd lost her mind before moving one of his pieces.

"Checkmate." His tone was hushed. "Ino…are you sure you're okay?" she hadn't lost to him at chess since the first time she had defeated him.

"You must be getting better." She told him, shrugging, and it was as if the motion completely upset her center of gravity. "I think…I just need a glass of water." She knew that it was easy to become dehydrated now, and she usually was careful to drink constantly, but she had lost her water bottle earlier, and now that she thought about it, she couldn't remember when she'd had some water last. She stood up, and for some reason, the whole world went white.

When she opened her eyes, the ceiling looked very strange, and she realized her head and arm hurt quite a bit. Also, she could feel Shikamaru's fingers in her hand. She looked over, and saw him staring at her in clear concern. "Where am I?"

"Health services." He told her. "Temari drove us."

"You're so lazy." Her mouth tasted like medicine somehow. "Making other people drive all the time."

"You passed out." He continued. "Do you remember anything?"

"I was getting water." She said. "Did I land on my head? It hurts."

"Sorry, I didn't catch you." He flushed. "One more thing I fail at."

"No, you did fine, I'm not dead, am I? Ick, an IV." She blinked at her arm. "Why am I on a drip?"

"You want to be a doctor, and you think IV's are gross?" he let out a slightly hysterical chuckle. "The nurse said she'd come talk to you when you woke up. She took some blood."

"Man, I was saving that." She felt rather loopy. "Did they give me drugs?"

"I don't know, they wouldn't really tell me. I think they want me to leave." He explained. "They said they need to talk to you in private."

"Oh yeah?" she sighed. "Well, I'm still thirsty, they could at least hydrate me better if they're putting me on a dumb drip."

"Do you want me to go tell them you're up?" he asked.

"Okay, sure." She shrugged. "I feel pretty okay."

"Ino, is there…do you have something, or is there something you want to tell me? Because it just seems weird they want to talk to you alone, and I even told them I'm your boyfriend, and they said it was up to you." He told her. "Only, when I brought Chouji here for food poisoning, they didn't make me leave the room."

"Maybe I did so awesome on my tests they're gonna offer me a job." She suggested. He frowned at her, and his expression was clearly pained. "Don't look so worried."

"I'll go get them, then." He looked like he wanted to say something else, but he just left the room, and a few moments later, a nurse came in with a chart, and Shikamaru was not with her.

"What's wrong?" Ino wanted to know, feeling a little bit more serious now. She blamed Shikamaru for looking so upset. She hadn't even known he could make a face like that.

"Ms. Yamanaka," the nurse smiled at her nervously. "You passed out due to anemia and mild dehydration, but I needed to speak with you alone because we took some blood when you came in. Are you aware that you're pregnant?"

"Yep, thanks for the reminder, though." She nodded.

"That makes it simpler, then." The nurse looked relieved. "Do you know how far along you are?"

"Eh…I haven't gone to a doctor about it yet…kinda was in the denial stage, you know?" Ino giggled nervously at her own joke, but the nurse didn't seem too surprised or upset. Probably she saw this happen to a lot of girls before.

"Well, we don't really have sonograph equipment here, and I would recommend a trip to the local hospital to verify that everything is all right." She explained. "We can take you in one of our shuttles, and the billing would not be specific, so if your parents don't know, it wouldn't be a problem."

"You are a very good woman." Ino nodded firmly. "Okay, yeah, let's take a ride to the ER. That sounds fun."

"Your friends can come along, if you would like." The nurse added.

"Ugh…can I tell you a small personal problem?" she asked, and the nurse nodded. "That guy's my boyfriend."

"He mentioned that several times." She smiled. "He was very worried for you."

"Well, he doesn't know about this," she gestured to her stomach. "But I'm willing to lay down good money that he's gonna want to go with us. Seriously, clingy at the least convenient times. Think you could make up some story about like…maybe I have a concussion and need a CAT scan or something?"

"I won't lie to him." The nurse told her point-blank. "But I won't tell him anything you don't want him to know. If you want to tell him a story, that's up to you. But you might also consider telling him the truth. Is it his?"

"Gah, everyone!" Ino threw up her hands and was annoyed to see her IV come out. "Stupid drip. Yes, it's his. Why does everyone ask that?" The nurse shrugged, and helped Ino fix her IV. "Do you think now would be a good time to tell him? I mean, I've got a damn IV in."

"That's up to you." The nurse told her. "Do you want to lie to him?"

"Okay, I've changed my mind about you, you're devious." She wagged her drip-free hand at the nurse. "Okay, send him in, but don't say anything. I'll handle this."

"Very good." The nurse left the room, and Shikamaru came back in, looking like he might actually have a panic attack.

"Oh good god, sit down, you're freaking _me_ out." Ino told him. "I don't have cancer, okay? I have nothing fatal. I was just anemic and dehydrated, and I'll be fine."

"Really?" he sat down, sighing heavily. "Ino, when you fell, I seriously…I was so afraid. I thought…I just thought, what if she just dropped dead?"

"Cause that often happens." Ino teased, but she couldn't help being touched by his concern.

"Seriously!" he told her "And the whole way here…you were laying in the backseat, your head was in my lap, but you weren't moving, and I just held my fingers here," he reached over, touching the pulse point on her neck, "so I'd know you were okay. I just…I'm not ready for you to go anywhere, okay?"

"I'm not going anywhere, take a breath already." She smiled, and he reached over with the hand that wasn't holding her own hand, brushing her lips with his fingers. "I can't believe I was passed out for you being romantic. I miss all the good stuff."

"Ino, it was seriously—"

"Scary, yeah, I know, I'm sorry." She told him. "I'll be careful from now on, okay? But…there is something I need to tell you."

"You…you said it was just anemia." He told her, immediately suspicious.

"Yeah, but they want to run some more tests at the emergency room, just to make sure everything's okay." She told him. "And that's why I need to talk to you."

"What do you mean?" he frowned, clearly not following. "I swear I won't harass the hospital staff."

"Not that." She sighed, and took a deep breath. "See, I'm pregnant."

--

To be continued…


	32. Chapter 32

Everything in Between

Chapter 32

----------

"I…I'm sorry, what?" Shikamaru laughed slightly, and Ino felt almost bad for him.

"I said, I'm pregnant." She repeated calmly, glad he was holding her hand too tightly for it to really shake at all. "Not very, but I am."

"You…but…we always…we always used condoms." Shikamaru's eyes glossed over, as though trying to recall every time they'd had sex since December. Ino gave him a moment before pressing on.

"Yeah, I know." She sighed heavily. "I guess that fail rate eventually had to bite us in the ass, right?"

"You're…you're pregnant." He repeated, licking his lips slowly. "Is that…that's what the nurse was telling you?"

"Kind of." Ino gave him a weak smile. "I found out before, like a week ago, and I was just…trying to think of how to tell you, what to do, all of that, but I don't really want to keep it a secret if it means lying to you. She came in to explain we could do sonograms at the hospital to make sure the baby's fine, since I fell and all."

"You fell, yeah." Shikamaru seemed to understand only one part of her explanation. He sat silently for a moment. "You found out a week ago?"

"Yeah." She confirmed, feeling guilty as he stared at her.

"And you didn't tell me then?" Shikamaru frowned, and she shook her head, waiting for something, for some explosion as the news settled in.

"I had to think about it on my own." She explained. "And I swear, if you ask if it's yours, I will hit you so hard."

"It better be mine." There was an echo of his normal tone in those words, and she giggled nervously. "So…that's why you keep getting sick."

"And why I've been so emotional." She explained. "Sorry, I think I've been a giant pain in the ass lately."

"Well…you're pregnant, so that's not a big deal." Shikamaru told her in a careful tone. "I mean…you getting upset. Of course you would, keeping that kind of secret."

"So…so now you know." Ino took a deep breath. He didn't seem okay, but he didn't seem especially upset either, he just seemed like he might need to lie down for a while. "What do you think?"

"About…about that?" he looked at her stomach warily, and she had a brief picture in her mind of a baby punching its way out and attacking him. That would explain his expression, certainly. He looked absolutely terrified, which she wasn't sure whether to classify as something bad, because he had no clue what to do, or something good, because he was clearly taking this seriously. "What should we do?"

"We?" she sighed, unable to believe how much better that word could make her feel, but she'd been so used to being asked what she would do, what she should do…feeling like it was something she was sharing with someone else…a decision like this was too big for her to deal with on her own. "You want…you want to…"

"Well, it may be in you," he sighed, sounding a little more normal. "But it's mine, too, so anything we do with it affects both of us, right?"

"Didn't you say something about giving it to Hinata to take care of?" she couldn't resist teasing him, and he flushed brilliantly red.

"Well…I didn't know then…wait a second, is Sakura really pregnant too?" Shikamaru wanted to know.

"I don't know, it might be that she was talking to Sai and he misinterpreted it, but she swore she wouldn't tell, so she couldn't just…" she felt the hand tighten on hers, and she winced, looking at Shikamaru in surprise. "That hurts."

"Sakura…does Sakura already know?" he asked, his voice shaking a bit, and Ino thought about lying, but it seemed a little late to do that now.

"She's known as long as I have." Ino nodded. "She was there when I took the test."

"She…she knows, and now you're telling me?" he frowned, his tone neutral and his expression unreadable, letting go of her hand, and instead squeezing both his hands into fists. "Does anyone else know?"

"Tenten." She admitted. "But she figured it out on her own; there was no point in lying after that."

"So that means probably Sai and Shino know." He pursed his lips. "And Sakura probably told Naruto, so Sasuke will know. And Hinata…who would tell Kiba. Am I the only one who doesn't know?" his voice sounded very dangerous now. "Does fucking _Temari_ know?"

"No, I told them not to tell anyone!" Ino insisted. "I've only known for a little while, and I was _going_ to tell you!"

"You're only telling me now to cover your own ass." Shikamaru's jaw was set. "You're making it sound like something between us, but I'm the last one to know! I bet everyone thought that was really fucking hilarious, probably had bets to see how long until I figured out what was going on!"

"Shikamaru, it wasn't like that!" Ino protested, sitting up and feeling a bit woozy, but taking a deep breath. She might not be well enough to chase him, but if he'd just listen to her…

"And you've probably already decided what to do about it, right?" his eyes were full of anger, and Ino felt worry wash over her like a wave. Why was he so angry? What could she be expected to do in a situation like this? "If it weren't for this, you could've just kept going on, keeping it from me, everyone else hiding it from me like it's none of my business!" His jaw was set, his fists shaking, his knuckles white. Ino had never seen him so upset about _anything_ before. "Why would that be? Why wouldn't anyone tell me? Is it mine? Is that the reason? Have you been fooling around this whole time?"

"Don't you even!" she felt anger burn away her worry at his words, the accusation stinging more sharply than she'd ever thought possible. "Don't you _even_ say something like that! You think that all this, everything between us was a lie? That I was just playing with you? Do you _really_ think that?"

"How am I supposed to know one way or the other?!" he shouted, standing up now, and as much as she wanted to slap him, to shake him and force him to see sense, she couldn't trust herself to get up without just collapsing again, and she'd be damned if she showed weakness now. "How can I believe anything you tell me? You're the same Ino as always! You're the girl that plotted and schemed and tried to use me to get close to Sasuke, that lied to Naruto and tried to poison him against Sasuke just so you could get what you wanted. I started to believe…I thought that you were done with that, that you had changed what you wanted, changed who you were, and that the person I was with, the person who would smile and say those things…say she loved me…I thought that was the real Ino, but it was all just some act! Do you even _know_ who the father is? How many other guys have you been doing this to? Does _Sakura_ know about them? Does everyone? Have they all been fucking _laughing_ at me, seeing me do whatever I could to stay with someone who didn't give a shit about me?!"

"Oh please! Like you've ever put any effort into _anything!_" Her face was pale with rage, two spots of red on her cheeks, her fists balled up, wanting desperately to hit him. "Don't pull this shit now! You know damn well it's yours, and you're just trying to get out of the responsibility by coming up with this elaborate 'Ino the whore' scenario, so you can just ignore me, now that I've gotten too _troublesome_ for you!"

"Like that's an elaborate scenario!" Shikamaru pointed at her in accusation. "Who was it that threw herself on me with no warning? You started this, and I fooled myself into thinking that it meant something, but you've never cared about _anyone_ besides yourself! Sasuke's lucky he never gave in to you, you would have just used him until you were bored and then tossed him aside! What's your plan, then, Ino? I'm sure you're getting rid of it, because something like that would only be an inconvenience to you, and god forbid you risk stretch marks and discomfort for something that's only going to annoy you, anyway! What do you want from me, then? You want me to pay for it? Fine! Take it all!" He pulled out his wallet, tossed down some money, and left in a rush. Ino looked down at the wadded up bills, not sure if she felt more angry or sad, but knowing for sure that for them, that was the end.

"You…you ass." She shoved the money aside weakly, and fell back on the bed, sobbing brokenly. Part of her never wanted to see Shikamaru again, but part of her only wanted him to come back, to say he didn't mean it, and to tell her that they'd get through this together.

She knew which part was stronger, and it only made her cry harder.

_What am I supposed to do now?_

----------

"Oh, hello, Sai." Hinata smiled at the young man who had been knocking on her bedroom door. "Sakura, it is Sai at the door."

"Hey," Sakura looked up, flushing slightly as she set down the book she'd been using for her homework. She had her hair pulled back in a messy bun, and had already changed into her pajamas, so she didn't really feel very presentable. She patted her head self-consciously, thinking it was about time for a haircut. "What's up?"

"Sakura, I need to speak with you." He told her, going to her bed and kneeling beside it with a look of seriousness on her face that made her feel oddly like he was going to propose to her while she sat her looking messy and haphazard. He looked perfect, as always. "It is very important."

"Oh…I can leave." Hinata apparently thought something important was about to happen, as well, and before anyone could say anything, she left the room to give them their privacy, closing the door behind her.

"What…what is it?" Sakura tried to calm herself. Of course he wouldn't be proposing to her, they'd only been dating three months, he hadn't even met her parents yet, and she was still terrified to meet his.

"Sakura, I have thought long and hard about all the things we have done together, and everything that you mean to me, and I want you to know that I do not wish for you to kill our baby." Sai told her, his tone still serious, and Sakura's eyes went wide, her face flaming.

"You…you didn't think…" Sakura laughed nervously despite herself, her heartbeat returning to normal. "Sai, I told you already, I'm not pregnant, I was just _talking_ about it hypothetically. I just wanted to know what you would want, what you would do."

"I would want to raise it with you, Sakura." He told her, only momentarily unbalanced by her laughter. "If you are pregnant, you can tell me." He eyed her expectantly, and this time she sighed heavily.

"I am really not pregnant, I swear." She told him, regretting having ever brought it up in the first place.

"But you were speaking in such a way, it made me sure that you were trying to tell me that…" Sai seemed rather disappointed. "That is too bad, at this point I was looking forward to it."

"Sai, we're young, and we're in college." Sakura shook her head, beaming at him, unable to contain the surge of joy, knowing that Sai really did care about her that much, knowing that he really wanted to build a life together, to have children…everything. "We'll have plenty of time for that later, when we're ready."

"I was ready." He frowned. "It is mean to trick me like that. I wanted to become a father."

"Think you can wait?" she asked, and he nodded after a moment of consideration. "Good, because I really don't think it would be very manageable right now, both of us in school. When would we ever have time for the baby if we had one now?"

"I see, you have thought this through more thoroughly than I have." Sai nodded thoughtfully. "It would be difficult, now that I think through the logistics. Perhaps I could take a break from schooling to take care of the baby while you continued on, but when I think about the possibilities, it would be much easier if we did not have children until we were out of school and had both secured jobs. Also, we should marry first, my mother said that children born out of wedlock are children of sin, and they are sent to purgatory after they die."

"You know…" Sakura sighed heavily. "Your mom…don't you sometimes think maybe she isn't always right?"

"Well, she would not approve of me having sex with you, since we are not married." Sai considered. "But I do not think it is wrong. In fact, I think it is very enjoyable."

"I love you, Sai." Sakura leaned over and kissed his forehead. "Please don't ever change."

"Okay." He answered simply, and she pulled him up onto the bed. It was time for a study break, definitely.

----------

"What's going on? Is she going to be okay?" Temari asked when Shikamaru stormed into the lobby, and she was shocked as he walked right past her and out of the building. She looked around in bewilderment for a moment before following him into the chilly night air. "Shikamaru? Is everything okay?" she had to jog to catch up with him, and the look on his face was so thunderous she pulled back, momentarily feeling afraid of him.

"Go away." He told her in a quiet voice. "Just go home."

"I…I can give you a ride back." She jabbed her thumb over her shoulder to indicate her car. "Or…or is Ino okay? I can wait until she's released and drive you both back. I don't want her walking back after…"

"Ino can do whatever she wants." He told her, his tone clearly annoyed. "So can you. I don't give a shit. Stay, go, whatever. Just leave me alone."

"But…why are you leaving?" she couldn't stop herself, she couldn't just let him go like this. Despite everything, she still cared about him, and even if things would never be quite like she'd hoped, he would always be her friend, if nothing else. "Does Ino have to stay overnight? Cause visitors can stay until ten, so you could…"

"I said I don't care!" Shikamaru shouted, and she pulled back in alarm, trying to recall any time she'd ever seen him angry before, and drawing a blank. "She'll find her own way home, and that's fine. I don't care, I don't want to see her face right now."

"What happened?" Temari was seriously alarmed now. The whole ride over, he had been panicky, his every thought for Ino, and now he was saying he didn't care what happened to her? That he didn't even want to see her? "Things have been rocky between you guys lately, I know, but you still care about one another, so—"

"Don't act like you don't know!" he turned on her, his eyes full of rage, his fists balled up, and she gasped in alarm, unable to regain the ability to speak until he'd already turned and run into the night. She could still make out his shape, but it was clear he didn't want to be followed, and whatever had happened, he apparently felt that she was partially to blame. She was completely unused to dealing with an angry, emotional Shikamaru, but she'd spent years dealing with her brothers in similar states, so she figured it would be best to give him time to cool off, and when he was ready, he'd tell her what was going on.

Until then…she considered leaving, looking over at her car thoughtfully.

_I could leave, but if I did…when Shikamaru calms down, he'll be worried about Ino again, and I'm sure he wouldn't really want her abandoned here…_

Temari was sure that Ino would rather have him at her bedside, and that she was in fact likely the last person the blonde wanted to see, but she still held out hope that some day, things would be more natural between Ino and her.

_If I want to be around Shikamaru, I'll need to be around her as well…maybe now's a good time to show her I don't mean any harm._

After all, Temari had always felt more comfortable mothering her friends than anything else, so there seemed no point in abandoning them now that they so clearly needed looking after. She bit her lip, unable to resist looking after Shikamaru one last time, but he had disappeared from sight now, and all she could do was hope that he would calm down, and that all of this would blow over. Sighing heavily, she went back into the building, and decided to wait a while before asking to see Ino. After all, if they'd been in a fight, as she suspected, Ino was likely even more irate than Shikamaru at the moment. She'd give the other girl a chance to calm down first.

After about twenty minutes had passed, she finally decided to check on Ino, and wandered back to where she had been taken, running into a nurse.

"Could I help you?" the woman asked, and Temari nodded.

"My friend is here and I wanted to check on her. Ino Yamanaka is her name." She felt a little odd doing this, and she could just picture Ino scoffing at the claim that they were friends, but she couldn't help being concerned with all that was happening, and after seeing the strong young woman collapse…Temari had never been especially fond of Ino, but she did not wish her ill, either.

"She's gone." The nurse answered. "We took her to the hospital for a few more tests."

"What?" Temari was annoyed that she'd been waiting around for nothing. "But…I brought her here. How will she get home?"

"We'll shuttle her back once the tests are completed," the nurse explained. "I assure you, we take the health of all students very seriously, we would not just turn her out in the street after having an episode like that."

"I…I see." Temari frowned, and turned away, feeling useless and powerless. She couldn't even get Shikamaru to talk to her, much less help him at all, and now when she thought she was nobly waiting to help her rival along for his sake, she had been whisked away without her knowledge. She thought of what her next course of action should be. She could go to the hospital to try and carry out her earlier idea of staying with Ino, but she got the feeling that Ino was probably happier being with these strangers than being forced to accept favors from her. She could try to find Shikamaru and see if he was okay, but the memory of his anger was still so shocking to her, she realized that it scared her more than seeing Gaara angry. She wished she knew what was wrong, so she could try to help them out, and she found herself thinking of Sakura, who had done everything she could to bring Naruto and Sasuke back together despite her old feelings for Sasuke.

_It's not the same with me, though, is it? Sakura's clearly moved on, and even if I've accepted that Shikamaru loves Ino, and not me, there's really no way to make her trust me, and Shikamaru would probably think I'm just happy to have a chance at him again. Maybe it's better if I stay out of it, after all, and just let them figure it out on their own._

She left the building again, feeling numb and dejected, and somehow guilty. Climbing into her car, she sat for a long time thinking everything over, and finally, she drove home and felt herself forming a plan, despite everything that had happened. She felt like if she stuck with it, even if they didn't trust her…she must be able to help, even if she had to do it through someone else, someone they wouldn't suspect was really just trying to break them apart completely. Because despite what Ino probably believed, Temari could see that she was better suited for Shikamaru, in the end, and if she wanted him to be happy, she would do what she could to bring them back together.

She went upstairs and clenched her fists with determination. She would get to the bottom of this soon. Knocking on the door she stopped in front of, she waited, her brow furrowed seriously, hoping this person would have the answers she was seeking.

"Temari?" Sakura looked a bit ruffled as she opened the door, her hair mussed and her cheeks rosy, she clutched a robe to her form, and Temari blinked in surprise to see that behind her, Sai, clearly wearing either very little or nothing at all, lay draped across her bed, his pale skin partially covered with a sheet pulled haphazardly over him. "What's up?"

"I…sorry to intrude, I just…could we talk?" she licked her lips and tried very hard not to look over Sakura's shoulder at Sai, who had moved around a bit now and was blinking blearily at the doorway, only very barely covered by the sheet thanks to his movements. "It's about Ino and Shikamaru."

"Oh…okay." She turned around a moment, looked at Sai, who was yawning contentedly and rubbing at his eye before smiling at Temari. "Let's go to your room." Temari nodded at once, because she didn't want to stare at Sai and get herself in trouble, certainly, so they headed down the hallway to her own room, and Sakura sat down on Temari's bed, pulling at her robe as though to cover herself up better, like Temari didn't know what had been happening only a few minutes ago. "What is it?"

Temari explained everything that had happened that evening, starting from the pair of them playing chess downstairs, and ending with her driving home alone, not sure of what to do. "And you see, I want to figure out what's going on, because I want to help them. He's so happy with her, I can't just let things go like this, but I don't think they'll even trust me to help them if I try. And I know Ino and you have been hanging out a lot lately, and I wondered if you knew anything about it."

"Um…" Sakura had a sinking feeling that she knew _exactly_ what was going on, but she couldn't really tell Temari, could she? She had sworn not to tell anyone, and even if Shikamaru _did_ know, that didn't mean Ino was ready to tell everyone else. "Well, I think we should try to find Shikamaru first." She hazarded. If Shikamaru knew what was happening, and was really so angry about it, he would likely let the whole thing slip, and then she would be able to talk to Temari about it without breaking her promise. She wasn't sure that this wasn't just a little bit devious, but she agreed that it sounded like the couple might need help. And besides, everything had ended well with Sasuke and Naruto, so she couldn't help feeling like her instincts about these things were definitely trustworthy. "I know he might be angry, but if Ino's in the hospital, we won't be able to talk to her at all, either, so we have to find him."

"Do you know where he might go to be alone?" Temari asked, feeling ashamed that she didn't know the answer to that. "Maybe…the library, or somewhere like that?" she hazarded.

"It's worth a try. We should ask Chouji, he might have a better idea. Let me go get dressed, and you can talk to him." Sakura nodded sharply, and they split up. Temari felt surprisingly better about everything knowing that she wasn't just doing this on her own. Even if Sakura didn't really know what to do, it was nice just to know she was trying to help. She proceeded down the hall and felt a surge of hope that Shikamaru would just be in her room, which would really simplify everything. However, when she reached the room, the door was open, and Shikamaru was not there. Kiba and Hinata were sitting on Kiba's bed talking in low tones and looking rather mushy, and Chouji was across the room, studying and clearly trying to pretend he did not know that his roommate probably wanted him to leave so he could be alone with his girlfriend.

"Hey, Temari," Chouji looked relieved to see someone who wasn't coming into his room to make out with one of his roommates, and smiled at her at once. "What's up?"

"Something's wrong, and we don't know where Shikamaru is, and he was really pissed, so I think Ino and him had a fight. Like a really big fight." She explained swiftly. "Do you know where he might be, or what might be going on?"

"Ino's a pretty big bitch lately, she probably started it." Kiba volunteered helpfully, and Hinata gave him a look that caused him to cough and blush. "Sorry, never mind."

"They have been fighting a lot, it could be anything." Chouji frowned. "Was he really upset, though? Usually he just gets annoyed. As long as it's a dumb fight, he can keep his head pretty well. Usually Ino's the angry one."

"No, he was really pissed," Temari told him seriously. "When I went after him…he looked so angry, I thought he was going to hit me, and he…well, you know how calm he usually is."

"Huh, never really seen him like that." Chouji looked concerned now. "Did you do something? I mean, maybe he's angry at you."

"No way!" Temari scowled. "I drove him and Ino to Health Services cause she fainted downstairs. He went back to see her and next thing I know, he's storming out of there. He said he never wanted to see her again, it was crazy."

"Hmm." Chouji stood up and put on his shoes. "I better go with you. This sounds serious. Did you ask Sakura? She might know what they fought about, she's been close to Ino lately."

"Yeah, I did she's…oh, here she is." Temari moved to let Sakura into the room as well, looking breathless, her clothes hastily put on, and Sai following behind her, also looking like he'd dressed as swiftly as possible, his hair actually messy. "She doesn't know what's going on, either. She said we should find Shikamaru, since Ino's at the hospital."

"We should all go." Hinata was standing up now, but Chouji shook his head.

"I don't think it's a good idea for this many people to go after him. He'll get defensive." He looked around the room thoughtfully. "Sakura and Temari, you can come, but everyone else should wait here."

"But I am concerned as well!" Sai protested.

"He might come back, we should be here just in case." Hinata pointed out, immediately accepting Chouji's decision. They settled down to wait as Chouji and the two girls left the room, following Shikamaru's best friend hopefully.

"Do you know where he's at?" Sakura asked him as they left the house.

"I have an idea." Chouji explained, leading them to a building that Temari attended a lot of her classes in, since it housed mostly humanities classes. She knew that it stayed unlocked at night because there was a computer lab downstairs, but was a bit surprised when Chouji led them upstairs, instead of down. "Whenever he needs to think about things, he likes to be alone and look at the sky." Chouji explained, leading them to the top floor, panting slightly as he looked around a bit, regained his bearings, and led them up a dark staircase that Temari had never really noticed before. It led to the roof.

"You think he's—" Chouji gestured for her to be quiet, so Temari held her tongue as they opened the door and stepped out onto the flat expanse of roof. Laying in the middle of it all, staring at the sky, was Shikamaru.

"Hey," Chouji stepped forward, and Sakura and Temari hung behind, unsure of what to do or say, and feeling it might be better to leave this to Chouji, who clearly knew Shikamaru much better than they did, to guess where he was at on the first try. "Mind if I hang out up here with you?"

"Go away." Shikamaru's voice was half-hearted, and he didn't even look over as Chouji moved closer and sat down next to him. The girls inched forward, still unsure of what to do, and not wanting to make things worse. "I don't want to talk to you right now."

"I said hang out, I didn't say talk." Chouji laid back, heaving a great sigh of contentment. "Nice out, only a few clouds."

"Chouji," Shikamaru sounded annoyed, but weary. "Go away."

"You mad at me now?" Chouji asked, and Shikamaru sat up, his friend following suit, blinking at him curiously.

"Did you know?" he asked, and Chouji frowned at him, not sure what his friend meant.

"Know what?" Chouji asked, and Shikamaru sagged in relief.

"I knew it, knew you'd tell me." Shikamaru told him, sounding much calmer now. "We've known each other so long."

"Forever." Chouji agreed. "So you going to tell me what this is about?"

"Ask them." Shikamaru jabbed a finger at their two person audience, and Sakura flushed. "They know for sure. Ino told me _you_ know, Sakura."

"I told her to tell you." Sakura spoke then, and Chouji and Temari looked at the pink-haired girl in surprise. "I told her that waiting would make it worse, but I think she thought…I think she was afraid you'd run away if you knew, and she was trying to figure out how to make you stay."

"What's going on?" Temari asked, confused by all this. "What are you guys talking about?"

"You really don't know, do you?" Shikamaru laughed humorlessly. "Geez, maybe you're better at keeping a secret than I thought, Sakura."

"Why are you upset with me? It wasn't my place to tell you." Sakura scowled at him. "I told her, I told her she had to tell you, but even if she was hiding it, how could I go behind her back and tell you?"

"You should have!" Shikamaru snapped, and everyone looked surprised for a moment. "Do you know who the father is, then? At least tell me that."

"What…what are you saying?" Sakura's face drained of color, and Temari gasped, covering her mouth as she realized at least part of what must be going on. "Who else would it be?"

"Fine, don't tell me." Shikamaru shrugged. "Did you tell Sai? Maybe I can get him to tell me."

"Is…is Ino…" Temari's face was drawn, and Shikamaru rolled his eyes at the look on her face.

"Yeah, she's pregnant." He confirmed, and Chouji pursed his lips, seeming much less surprised than Temari about this news. "She told just about everyone, except me. Seems it's none of my business."

"Of course it's your business!" Sakura shook her finger at him angrily. "It's your baby!"

"Yeah right!" Shikamaru brushed her aside. "If it was, she would have _told me_!"

"Well, she must have told you, you found out!" Sakura insisted. "I know she should have told you right away, but _clearly_ her concern that you would just _abandon_ her was pretty well-founded! She's in the hospital, and you're up here, staring at the stars like you don't have anything more important to do! You know what, you're right, you clearly _aren't_ the father! This baby is better off with no father, than stuck with someone like you!" she whirled on her heel and left in a rage, while Shikamaru stared after her, sputtering incoherently under his breath.

"So…" Chouji finally spoke up. "You coming home, then?"

----------

To be continued…


	33. Chapter 33

Everything in Between

Chapter 33

----------

"Ino, I'm really sorry about all this." Sakura was helping the blonde downstairs with her luggage for spring break. "But I really didn't tell anyone."

"I know." She smiled at her friend. "Oh…by the way, you're not really pregnant too, are you?"

"Sai…" Sakura groaned and lowered her head in annoyance. "No, that was a big misunderstanding."

"Yeah, I kinda thought so." Ino nodded and patted her back, feeling a bit envious of Sakura, who could just say it was all a rumor, after all. "Temari and that man think you are, I don't know who else."

"Oh, good." Sakura rolled her eyes, "I'll just leave the damage control to Sai. He needs to learn to clean up after himself, after all." She hefted Ino's suitcase down the stairs, since the elevator was aggravatingly broken that morning.

"I'm assuming he at least had a better reaction than that man when he thought you were pregnant, though?" Ino quirked an eyebrow, and Sakura shrugged, feeling a bit guilty, despite the fact that it wasn't as though she had planned for things to end this way. Now Ino was referring to Shikamaru only as "that man" and refused to see or speak to him. However, as far as Sakura could see, he had no desire to _try_ to see her, so it wasn't really making a great change in things.

"I really didn't expect him to be so…" Sakura couldn't even think of words to explain how she felt about Shikamaru's reaction to Ino's pregnancy. It had only been the night before, but it still seemed so…unbelievable. Maybe with time, he would become more reasonable, and maybe Sakura would have reason to retract her own words against him, but at the moment, she only really felt sorry for the woman she was helping to the door.

"Oh, Sakura," Ino pulled out her cell phone as they reached the entry to the house and she spotted her parents waving to her from the street. "Here, put your number in, okay?"

"Oh…okay," she flushed slightly, pleased that Ino wanted her phone number as she punched the proper buttons and handed it back. "Call me any time."

"Says the girl looking forward to a romantic week away with her boyfriend." Ino teased, but her smile was more dejected than anything else, and it pained Sakura's heart to see her like this, reduced to such a state. "I just…want to make sure I can get in touch, just in case."

"Sure!" Sakura wasn't really sure what it was in case of, but assumed Ino meant that she was going to try to explain everything to her parents over break, and was hoping for moral support. "Any time is fine, don't worry about calling, even at four in the morning, okay?"

"Thanks, I really…" Ino paused, her hand in her pocket still holding her phone and then she lunged forward, hugging Sakura so tight she thought she might choke. "Thanks for everything. You've been so nice to me, even after everything…thanks."

"It's no trouble." Sakura felt touched at Ino's words, and she wasn't sure what to say. "Have a good break. I'll see you soon!"

"Sure," Ino hefted her bag up and left to join her parents. Sakura went back up the stairs, feeling a bit happier about everything despite all the trouble that had been caused last night. Ino would be fine now, and she'd have a week away with her parents to think everything over, and maybe things between Shikamaru and her could work out, anyway, after all. And if not…Ino was strong, she didn't need him, and if he was going to act the way he had last night, she was probably better off alone.

Still, it was sad, and she couldn't help thinking that what she really wanted to see as she had watched Ino climbing into that car was Shikamaru running to meet her dramatically and telling her how sorry he was, begging her forgiveness, and everything ending happily. She supposed that was just the sort of person she was, she wanted everyone to be happy, but she would just have to learn to accept that some things didn't end so perfectly. In fact, when she thought about it, despite them getting back together, she didn't envy Sasuke and Naruto the things they had gone through. In fact, most of her friends, including herself, had gone through some sort of trial to reach the point they were at now.

_But I guess what I wish is that it didn't seem so much like Ino wasn't getting anything for all her trouble except for more trouble._

Maybe she should just leave things well enough alone. Maybe it was really better to have loved and lost, as they said, but then again…

----------

"Ino just went downstairs with Sakura." Chouji told his roommate as he walked in the room, as casually as though he hadn't been watching the hall for just this occurrence. "She had her bags with her."

"Hm." Shikamaru was pretending to look at a magazine. Chouji knew for a fact that he was only pretending because Shikamaru never read magazines.

"You could catch her if you went down now, you know how hard it is to get luggage up and down the stairs." He told Shikamaru helpfully.

"Elevator's broken again?" he asked, glancing up a moment. "Too bad."

"You realize she'll be gone until a week from tomorrow." Chouji clarified. "Do you really want to leave things this way?"

"I'm reading." Shikamaru answered, and Chouji snorted, sitting down next to his friend and tossing the magazine away.

"No you aren't," he countered. "Don't pretend you don't care about what's going on here."

"I think you care more than me." Shikamaru told him in an annoyed tone.

"Yeah right! You love her, don't pretend you don't because you think she's been fooling around or whatever." Chouji chastised him. "Are you going to honestly tell me you want her to spend all spring break thinking that you hate her?"

"Don't act like you know so much." Shikamaru grumbled.

"Well, it's just you must have some proof or something." Chouji shrugged. "Since Ino's saying she never slept around on you, and she's swearing it's your kid, seems you must have proof she's lying."

"She kept it from me." Shikamaru answered testily. "Why would she keep it from me unless there was a reason to?"

"Like, maybe she thought you'd flip out and break up with her, leaving her to deal with it on her own?" Chouji tapped his chin thoughtfully. "No, must be she was cheating on you."

"I hate when you do that." Shikamaru grumbled.

"Do what?" Chouji blinked at him innocently, and Shikamaru sighed heavily in response. "Well, I just think…I mean, even if she really did cheat on you, even if that's not your kid, are you really okay with just tossing her out like that? I mean, she's pregnant, and you're just gonna ditch her now?"

"You make me sound like a deadbeat dad." Shikamaru answered after a long silence. "That's annoying."

"Well, I kinda think that's how they define it, so yeah." Chouji stood up and stretched. "Man, I'm hungry. I'm gonna grab a quick snack before my parents get here, seeya later."

"Seeya." Shikamaru stood as he left and went to his window. He could see cars leaving from in front of the house downstairs, and one of them, he was sure, had Ino inside. He didn't know which one, and he didn't think there was anything he could do if he did know.

_Stupid Chouji, always making me doubt myself._

_But then again…he might have a point…maybe._

He walked over to his desk and stared at his cell phone for a very long time, considering it the way someone about to slit their wrists might consider a razor. Finally, he picked it up, his hand shaking slightly, and found Ino's number. He stared at it for a moment, his finger hovering over the call button, and then he set it back down, letting it sit there, her name and number mocking him until the screen went black after a bit.

He couldn't apologize to her…after all, she'd been wrong, too! And what if he was right? Was he really prepared to take on the responsibility of raising someone else's kid? For that matter, could he imagine raising his own kid?

_Ino doesn't have to imagine, though. In a while, she'll be doing it for real._

He knew Ino, and despite what he'd said, he had a feeling she'd be keeping the child. He had a feeling that if she was planning to get rid of it, she would have probably told him sooner…somehow that fit. She'd probably insist he drive her to the clinic and pay for the procedure, like it was some twisted kind of date. But for some reason, despite the fact that he knew she had to know what it would mean for her to keep it, he had the suspicion that was exactly what she wanted to do. It was surprisingly selfless of her, and like all selfless things Ino did, Shikamaru couldn't help feeling he was missing something.

Which was part of why he'd been inclined to think it was someone else's…although when he thought about the timing…honestly, if she was really seeing someone else, she was very sneaky, since he knew her schedule and knew she spent almost all her free time with him, and she had to be studying some time, so it did seem unlikely…but still.

He didn't want to apologize first.

----------

"We should pack," Naruto breathed softly as Sasuke lavished attention on his chest, his hand working lower. "If you want…to leave today."

"I want to stay here," Sasuke told him, squeezing Naruto's half-hard length, "let's just spend all week in bed."

"Mmm, that sounds good," Naruto stretched out, reaching up a hand to tangle in Sasuke's hair. "But I have to do a photography assignment. Am I supposed to show pictures of you?"

"It's a nice campus, you could take pictures outside." Sasuke told him, pressing a kiss to his throat.

"But…I was looking forward to leaving campus, to getting away." He admitted. "I've never had a vacation at the beach before."

"Okay," Sasuke halted momentarily, feeling a bit guilty that he hadn't thought about how much this trip would mean to Naruto, who had never really had much money or opportunity to travel before. He felt more than ever like he should give the blonde everything he had to give, and if it would really make him happy, he'd even put off sex for now. It wasn't like the hotel he'd booked wouldn't have beds. He sat up to climb off of Naruto, but felt a tug on his wrist.

"But first," Naruto was blushing, and Sasuke knew he still felt a bit unsure of himself, like the things they did together were somehow not going to be enough for Sasuke. It was a bit adorable, but at the same time, it always made Sasuke feel guilty. He'd been the one to cause this doubt, and he would spend the rest of his life making amends if Naruto would let him.

His physics lab grade had begun to suffer again, but when he switched sections, even though it had been horrible to work it around his other classes, he noticed a marked improvement. He wasn't sure if that instructor knew the details of why he was doing what he was, but he wished Kabuto and Orochimaru all the misery they deserved. The best news of all…he had learned that every three years, the physics department switched hands, and starting next year, Orochimaru would not be the head. That would last until he graduated, and so, his problems had seemingly resolved themselves. That was good, he would really hate to start a messy court case over all of this, and transferring to a different school…a school away from Naruto…that was out of the question.

"Thank you," Naruto sighed happily as Sasuke lay on top of him again, enjoying the simple feeling of skin on skin, and the contentedness that washed over him just being this close to his lover. "I know it might be boring to you, you've probably been to the ocean hundreds of times."

"I want you to be happy," Sasuke pressed his lips against Naruto's pulse point. "It doesn't matter to me really, whether we're here or at the ocean, or anywhere, I just want to see you happy."

"I love you," Naruto arched his neck, allowing Sasuke easier access to the column, and despite his claim that they would need to hurry and pack, they lay together for nearly an hour, slowly making love, Sasuke on top, kissing him and pressing into him, his eyes soft and full of emotion, and it was almost enough to make Naruto believe that he really liked this better, that he really preferred being with Naruto to anyone else. But it was hard…hard to believe that it was true, that Sasuke wasn't forcing himself. He had no doubt that Sasuke cared for him, and he thought that it was likely his lover was pushing aside what he wanted in favor of what he thought Naruto was comfortable with.

It had been a week since they'd gotten back together, and he was still afraid of Sasuke becoming bored with him and turning back to one of his former lovers, someone who could do the things he liked. He had heard Sasuke's words, and he wanted to believe him, but he'd seen the truth with his own eyes, Sasuke bent over that counter, begging that professor for more…He was afraid to be on top, so he kept having Sasuke top, thinking it would be harder for his lover to compare, since he seriously doubted Orochimaru had ever let Sasuke top him. He loved it either way, really, but sometimes…sometimes he really wanted to be on top, and he'd just learned to redirect his desires at times like that.

And so far…Sasuke seemed happy. He was obsessed with kissing Naruto, and he could barely stop himself from doing it all the time. Naruto suspected there hadn't been a lot of kissing between him and that professor, and he seemed to have missed it, which was great for Naruto. He was very confident in his ability to kiss, after all, and he didn't really feel the need to hold back there.

"I love you," Sasuke collapsed on him when it was over, panting, still pressing kisses along his throat and below his ear, and Naruto bathed in the warm afterglow, holding him tight and squeezing his eyes shut, basking in the feel of the body on his, the smell of their sweat and musk.

He might be giving up something he wanted, but so was Sasuke, so it was okay.

As long as Sasuke stayed with him everything was okay.

----------

"Boys!" Temari knocked sharply on Neji and Gaara's door. "Boys, we're heading out. I expect you to be right behind us."

"Go away!" Neji's voice came to her muffled by the closed door between them. "We're busy."

"Getting busy, maybe." Kankurou rolled his eyes. "I don't see why you care if he comes home, they're just going to lock themselves in his room and spend all break doing it, just like winter break."

"Kankurou, shut up." Temari hissed at him. "What have we talked about? Are you allowed to criticize any of your friends' relationships?"

"You're such a controlling bitch." He grumbled. "I'm just saying you should leave them alone." There was a loud moaning coming from the other side of the door suddenly, mixed with a grunting noise, and they both flushed deep red. Temari coughed to cover her embarrassment.

"Well then!" she was overly loud in an attempt to drown out the noises. "I'll see you boys later! Come on, Kankurou!" she pulled him away, and they headed toward the stairs.

"Can't believe the damn elevator's broken." Kankurou, who was being made to carry both his things and Temari's, was not looking forward to his trip down the stairs.

"At least we're going down, not up." She pointed out as they entered the landing.

"Hey, can you hold the door!" Sakura's voice stopped Temari as she was about to follow Kankurou down the stairs, and she let the pink-haired girl through as well. "Thanks!" she hefted her suitcase awkwardly through the doorway, and Temari frowned.

"Where's Sai? Aren't you two going home together?" she asked, feeling very disapproving of Sakura being forced to carry her own things.

"Oh, he had to take care of some errands, he's off downtown, but I told him I'd get our stuff downstairs by the time he was back so we could go." Sakura explained, grunting as she tried to heave her rolling suitcase down a step without losing control of it.

"Kankurou, help Sakura with her bag." Temari ordered at once, and he gave her a look of such venom that she possibly would have taken pause, had she even been looking at him. "Honestly, you shouldn't be heaving around luggage in your condition. I'm shocked that Sai would—"

"I'm _not_ pregnant." Sakura cut her off. "Sai thought I was talking about myself, but I was trying to figure out what to do about Ino."

"Oooh," Temari tapped her lips, pausing to watch as Kankurou shifted his bags so that he could carry Sakura's as well and almost fell down the stairs. "That makes more sense now. If I'd known when he was talking about that, I would have probably guessed something like that."

"How long are you going to torture him?" Sakura sighed as they followed slowly behind Kankurou to avoid become caught in the mess if he really did fall down the stairs.

"Until I believe he's learned his lesson." Temari told her primly, and Sakura giggled, feeling vaguely guilty…but then, when she thought of all the trouble Kankurou had caused, it was really hard to feel bad for him at all.

"Where's Gaara?" she asked. "Is he going home with you as well?"

"He is," Temari flushed slightly. "As to where he is, you're smart, I'm sure you can guess."

"Those two," Sakura shook her head, blushing a bit as well. "Honestly, if one of _them_ was a girl, statistically speaking, no matter what contraceptives they'd been using, you'd expect them to have a whole litter of kids now."

"The thought of Gaara as a father, while cute, is vaguely terrifying." Temari chuckled. "It's a shame, though. He was an awfully cute kid."

"I bet." Sakura smiled as they watched Kankurou attempt to set the bags down. "You should bring back pictures."

"Only if you don't tell him, I don't want to die or have my room set fire to." Temari pursed her lips. "Kankurou! Go get Sai's bag and bring it down as well!" she snapped at her brother, and after he grumbled back upstairs, she turned back to Sakura. "So then, does Ino have any idea what she's going to do?"

"Honestly…I can tell she's still trying to decide." Sakura was amazingly relieved to be able to talk about the situation now, and since Ino had told her not to worry about keeping it secret now that "that man" knew, she didn't have to worry if anyone overheard. "She's planning to talk to her parents, and I think what they have to say will probably play a large part in her decision. I think her main problem is that if she _does_ keep it…I mean, she'll have to drop out. There's no way she could have a kid in the dorms, and how would she be able to afford an apartment off campus _and_ day care if she's a student? The logistics are just…I mean, if Shikamaru had stayed with her, even then it would have been difficult, but one person can't do that much by themselves."

"Well," Temari frowned. "I'm sure there's something that could be done." She shrugged. "It'd be a shame for her to have to give up such a cute kid."

"Are you…are you planning something?" Sakura narrowed her eyes. "I thought you _hated_ Ino?"

"I respect her, I don't hate her." Temari examined her nails carefully. "And even if he's being a grade A imbecile right now…I can't just abandon Shikamaru. Plus, after what Kankurou did…well, torturing him is fun, but I can't help thinking that there must be some more productive way to make amends."

"What are you thinking?" Sakura asked, feeling suddenly hopeful for Ino.

"It just seems to me," Temari explained, "there's so many of us, if we all worked together, even with school and everything…I mean, it's only _one_ kid. It can't be _that_ difficult. And I'm rich, if you recall."

"I'm really not sure I follow you." Sakura frowned. "We still can't have a kid in the dorms, even if all of us like, petitioned. What, are you planning to bribe the housing office?"

"I'll research the options during spring break, and if Ino's interested," Temari flushed slightly. "I mean, if she's even _willing_ to accept help from me…if you could tell her I really do want to help out, then just…that would be great."

"I hope that your plan doesn't involve letting Kankurou within thirty yards of the baby." Sakura whispered as they watched the young man grumble back down the stairs, being a little bit more rough with Sai's bag than was strictly necessary. "Cause if it was me, I wouldn't really want him as a nanny."

"Don't worry, I'll come up with something." Temari winked at her and ran to join her brother. They left, Temari carrying her own bag and good-naturedly teasing her brother about having weak arms, and Sakura stared after them, wondering what the blonde was thinking of. If she really could come up with some way for Ino to stay in school and keep the baby…that would be amazing.

She wished she had Ino's number, she really wanted to call the other girl right then. She was sure she could do with a little good news.

"Hi, Sakura!" Tenten was bouncing down the stairs happily, carrying a small cage with a pair of scorpions inside it. "Going home soon?"

"Soon as Sai gets back." She tried not to back away from the things in Tenten's hand, but she really was not fond of large poisonous bugs, no matter how much Shino assured her they were perfectly safe. "Are you going home with Shino, then?"

"I am! We have to bring these two with us, because Shino's almost positive they mated, and if the female starts giving birth, we may have to separate them, because sometimes the father will eat the little scorplings." Tenten explained.

"Scorplings?" Sakura couldn't help giggling. "That's actually…kinda cute."

"I know, right?" Tenten flushed. "I'm just glad she didn't eat him, that happens sometimes, and Shino would have been heartbroken, these guys are his babies."

"Um…yeah." Sakura smiled. "Well…good luck with the pregnancy, I guess."

"Hey, hey, did you know about Ino?" Tenten paused, leaning in. "I mean, everyone's talking about it now, so I assume—"

"Yeah, I know." Sakura nodded. "I'm hoping everything will work out. Did you hear that Shikamaru said…well, some pretty horrible things to her?"

"Yeah, Kiba was telling me." Tenten shuddered slightly. "What do you think will happen?"

"I don't know." Sakura frowned. "But I hope it works out. They seemed like such a good couple."

"Yeah, but I guess you can't really say, you know?" Tenten shrugged. "I mean, what happens between them every day, things like that…we're only outside observers, we don't really know how they feel, do we? Only they can decide that."

"I guess you're right." Sakura sighed, momentarily forgetting to be afraid of the scorpions, and watching with amusement as Tenten raised the cage up to eye level and made little kissy faces at the arachnids.

"Sakura, I am home!" Sai burst in, looking excited to see her, and probably still exuberant to meet her parents.

_Only we can say how we feel about each other, I guess that's true._

"Let's hit the road." She hefted her bag and he waved at Tenten, picking up his own bag and holding the door for her. "Hey Sai?" she paused as they reached her car.

"Hm?" he looked up from where he had been putting his bag into her back seat.

"I love you," she smiled, and he beamed back at her.

"I love you too!" he assured her, and she sighed happily. At least she knew how he felt, and how she felt for him. But she couldn't help hoping all her friends could be as happy as her.

----------

To be continued…


	34. Chapter 34

Everything in Between

Chapter 34

----------

"Hey!" Temari knocked on Gaara's door angrily, and Kankurou walked on towards their rooms to drop off their bags, looking extremely weary. "Hey! I know you're in there!"

"I said go away!" Neji's voice was much sleepier this time, and Temari shook her head, tapping her foot impatiently for a few moments before persisting, knocking sharply on the door.

"Can I just _see_ my brother so I know he's _alive_?" she called out, feeling extremely annoyed. "Since he never came home for spring break like he _promised_, and he didn't answer _any_ of my phone calls!"

"Temari, I'm fine." Gaara's voice came to her. "I'll come talk to you later."

"You'll come talk to me _right now_, mister!" Temari shook her finger at the door. She looked over for support from Kankurou, but apparently an entire week with only her for company had proved too much for him, and he was now hiding in his own room. "I don't know if you remember me, I'm your _sister_, who practically raised you! Could you not come talk to me for two minutes? Is that too much to ask?"

"Just leave them alone!" Kankurou poked his head out in the hall and yelled at her, before retreating again. She scowled in annoyance. No one appreciated her anymore!

"I'm naked, I'll talk to you later." Gaara told her, and Temari spluttered in annoyance for a few moments before stomping down the hallway as loudly as she could manage, and slamming her own door shut, sitting to stew for a while. She couldn't believe he hadn't even come home for the entire week! Didn't he even _want_ to spend time with his family anymore?

_I wonder…maybe this is sort of the way that Kankurou felt before, when he started messing with everyone. Maybe he was afraid…that he was going to be forgotten by his friends, by his brother. They're all so wrapped up in each other…_

"Temari!" Sakura was knocking on her door, "Can I come in?" And suddenly, Temari shook her head as though clearing the bad thoughts and cleared her throat.

_But I'm not stupid enough to make the same mistakes as him. I know…even if they're wrapped up in each other, I know Gaara cares about me. He just has a hard time seeing the way his actions affect others._

"Yeah, come on in," she hoped Sakura hadn't heard her yelling, because it seemed rather foolish now that she was reflecting on it. "Have a good break?"

"Um, yeah, it was interesting." Sakura came in, flushing brilliantly. "Sai certainly made an impression."

"Oh yeah, I'd forgotten about that!" Temari couldn't help laughing. "Did he do alright?"

"Well, I think my mom's going to marry him if I don't." Sakura rolled her eyes. "She _loved_ him. I should have known. If nothing else, he has excellent manners, and even if he sometimes says something…well, that no one should ever say, he's gotten a lot better about that. I think my dad thinks he's putting on an act or something, though. My dad never likes anyone I date, so no shocker there." She shook her head slightly. "But I was going to come ask you about what we talked about, remember, right before break?"

"Oh!" Temari clapped her hands together and looked around for her bag. "Kankurou! My things!" she threw a shoe at the wall, and then she smiled brightly at Sakura. "Okay, so I found out that there are a few options we could pursue. Kankurou!" she paused, holding her hand out, and after a moment, her brother came in, muttering under his breath and tossing her bag down rather spitefully. "Oh, nice, very mature." She rolled her eyes and ignored the way he slammed the door shut before going through her bag and pulling out her laptop case. Sakura cringed, imagining that the computer might have been damaged when he threw it down like that, but it seemed fine, and she scooted closer to see what Temari had to show her.

"Did you do anything fun for break?" she teased, and Temari chuckled slightly.

"Some day you'll be an old woman like me, and you'll think stuff like this is fun." The blonde retorted, and Sakura giggled slightly, looking at the page Temari was showing her. "See, the school has _kind of_ a day care facility, but the problem is that it's student run, so you could have stinky unwashed biology majors in there, fighting with some lit major over what's the best story to read a kid before nap time, _and_ it doesn't run during all class hours, only like four hours a day, so really, it's kind of to fill in the gaps if you have a babysitter, or like you're a part-time student who already lives at home with another parent, and it doesn't solve the issue of her not being able to keep a baby in the dorms. I mean, people break the no pets rule all the time, sure, but I think that this would be a little harder to hide. You can't really just shove a bassinet in your closet and whistle really loud to hide the baby-crying noises during room inspections."

"It sounds suspiciously like Kankurou suggested a 'solution' already." Sakura giggled, and Temari rolled her eyes, switching pages.

"Anyway, another option is that her parents can take the kid, if they're interested, but then of course, I mean…she'll see it sometimes, but it's almost like giving the kid up for adoption, having someone else raise it. And unless they're wanting to move out here just to be her personal day care providers…" Temari shook her head. "But look at _this._"

"That's a pretty gigantic house." Sakura looked at the building thoughtfully. "Is it like a boarding house or something?"

"It used to be." Temari nodded sharply. "Look at this," she pulled up the specifications. "It's perfect, isn't it? See, if a bunch of us all moved in here, we could all keep an eye on the baby, and it's really close to campus, in fact, the university _was_ in negotiations to buy it, probably to refurbish into administrative offices or classrooms, but it just came out of escrow, so now it's in the market and I _could_—"

"Geez, Temari, you're gonna buy her a freaking house?" Sakura gasped. "No, look how much it costs! That's like…more than my parents make in a year! You don't just buy people _houses_."

"It's only _one_ house, and it's an _investment_, Sakura. In another year or two, the school will get the money to buy it, and they'll be willing to pay probably twice what I paid for it…though I could just donate it after I graduate…that'd be a tax write-off, plus if I ever had kids, they'd totally get in here. Oh man, they'd probably even name the building after me." Temari rubbed her chin. "Plus! Think of how convenient this would be in the mean time! Living in a house, you wouldn't have to let the school charge you over-inflated room and board costs, and that'd split your tuition in half, at least! Plus, you'd be living with all your friends, and I'd be fine handling the utilities and everything, as long as you guys bought groceries, which is really a bargain compared to what the school is asking you to shell out now. I mean, obviously, I'll have to check the building out, make sure it isn't like, rotting or infested with rats or anything, and then we'd have to decide on who was moving in, because there are only seven bedrooms, so obviously it's not like _all _of us would be able to live there, but think of how fun that would be!"

"Well…I mean, I guess it does sound cool, and that _would_ be really awesome…but I mean…seriously, can you really afford to just lay down that kind of money?" Sakura gaped at Temari.

"Obviously. My father left us a _substantial_ inheritance, and since _I'm_ in charge of the money…honestly, this won't even put a dent in it, and the possible return will more than make that up. Of course, I'll run it past my brothers first. Kankurou said he'd be fine with it as long as I get him a car, but what he forgot to do was tell me what _kind_ of car, so he'll be getting something that costs under five grand, because I'm sick of him crashing expensive sports cars off cliffs—"

"It wasn't a cliff!" Kankurou's voice cut in from the other room. "And don't get me a shitty car!"

"You're lucky I don't get you a Power Wheels, King of Reckless Driving!" Temari called back before turning back to Sakura to see what she thought. "I haven't had a chance to speak to Gaara about it, though, since he spent his _entire _spring break on a mattress."

"Did he…not come home?" Sakura gaped as Temari shook her head, still annoyed. "Well…I guess, at least they're happy."

"So then all that would leave is Ino." Temari went on. "I mean, at this point I'm kind of hooked on the idea of getting the house, just because it would be so much _nicer_ than these dorms…but it's hard for me to do things like that if I can't say it's also for someone else. I mean, if you guys still wanted to stay there, I think that would be really fun. Oooh! Do you want to come look at the house with me? I want to wait until Ino's back, but she should be home tonight, right? She has Monday classes, doesn't she?"

"Uh, yeah, we have a chemistry lecture together." Sakura nodded. "That would be cool. Yeah, let me know, and I'll see if I can come along."

"Okay, great! And when Ino gets back, can you see what's going on there? I just…I don't know if she'll want to talk to me about it first, and since you've been helping her out this whole time…"

"Sure! No, that'd be great." Sakura nodded sharply. "Oh man, I better not tell Sai though, he'll get _way_ too excited at the thought of having a baby around, even if it's not his, he'll just…" she giggled and flushed. "I better go! I gave her my number, so she might have called me. I'll let you know as soon as I hear from her."

"Excellent!" Temari felt a great deal better by the time Sakura left the room, and to her great surprise, Gaara showed up at her door a moment later.

"Okay, I'm dressed now." He told her, looking a tad begrudging, and she was surprised that Neji wasn't right behind him. She wanted to be annoyed, but it was hard. She was so excited about everything that was happening; it was hard to be angry at anyone, really.

----------

"Um, may I help you?" Tenten frowned at the man in her room when she returned from her Monday morning class. He seemed to be putting things in boxes, from _her_ room, which really didn't seem okay, especially since she didn't know him and didn't remember asking _anyone_ to box up her things.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" he laughed, and scratched the back of his head nervously. He looked a bit familiar, but she wasn't sure where she'd seen him before. "I'm not sure, I think we might have met at the beginning of the year. I'm Ino's father. You must be…um, Tenten?"

"Oh!" Tenten flushed, feeling foolish for not recognizing him right away. "Of course! Mr. Yamanaka. So…where's Ino?"

"Ah, she's…well, she won't be coming back." He made an odd face. "So I'm here to bring her things home. This…this is her dresser, right?" he looked suddenly unsure.

"Oh…oh." Tenten blinked in surprise. "Yeah, that's her dresser." She looked around in confusion, as though Ino was about to burst out of the closet and declare it all a joke and start laughing at her. "She's…not coming back? Really? What…what happened? Is she okay?"

"Well…you know…" Ino's father now looked extremely uncomfortable. "Circumstances being what they are…you know how things are, sometimes…unexpected situations arise, and you just…yes, very good."

"Wait, is this because she's pregnant?" Tenten filtered through his babbling rather swiftly. "But…I mean, she's barely pregnant yet! You can't even tell. I don't see why she shouldn't be able to stay in school. Plus, she's an adult! You can't just yank her out of school because she messed up a little!"

"It wasn't our choice." He told Tenten solemnly. "Ino said she wants to keep the baby, and we told her we'd do whatever we could to help out and keep her in school, but she wouldn't have it. She said she'd rather just quit school now, because she wouldn't be able to manage both…and it seemed to her…well, if you want to talk about it with her, you can call her, I'm sure she wouldn't mind explaining." And he fled downstairs with a box that wasn't even full yet.

"What's going on out here?" the door across the hall opened, and Sakura came out, looking confused. "Who is that guy?"

"Ino's dad." Tenten explained, hardly able to believe it herself. "Ino's not coming back to school."

"She's…what?" Sakura fumbled for her cell phone, pulling it out and seeing that she had received a text message. She didn't recognize the number, but the text made it clear who it was from.

_Thanks for everything; sorry I couldn't do this in person. Tell everyone I'll miss them._

"What?" Sakura blinked at the message in disbelief. "But why?"

"Apparently she wants to keep the baby, but she doesn't think she can take care of it and stay in school." Tenten looked at her room as though still expecting Ino to appear out of nowhere. "So she's just dropping out now."

"Idiot!" Sakura stuffed the phone in her pocket, turned down the hall and went straight into the triple, striding past Chouji, who was studying on the ground, and grabbed the book off of Shikamaru's face, tossing it aside and slapping him awake.

"What the hell?" he grumbled, blinking up at her. "Yeah, you think I'm a waste of space, I already know. I'm taking a damn nap."

"This is because of _you_, so I hope you're happy!" Sakura told him in irritation. "If you'd been more supportive, she would've stayed, would've tried to figure something out! And now she's not coming back!"

"What're you on about?" Shikamaru shoved her hands away, sitting up.

"Come with me and I'll _show_ you." She grabbed his arm and pulled him out into the hall, gesturing to the boxes waiting outside Tenten's room, the man inside packing up Ino's things.

"What's…going on?" he blinked blearily.

"Ino's _not coming back_." Sakura hissed at him. "I wonder _why_ that would be?"

"It's not my business." Shikamaru muttered, turning to go back to his room.

"Oh, that's right, because you didn't get her pregnant in the first place, right?" Sakura chased him back into his room, hovering over his shoulder as he tried to ignore her. "It was some _other_ guy, must have been! I really _envy_ you, being able to just completely deny _any_ involvement in any of this! And I'm sure she was really feeling supported by you, after you completely denounced her and pushed her aside. I'm sure that you did _nothing_ wrong at all, nothing that would make her think it was better to just stay home and work on being a _housewife_ instead of becoming a doctor. But _you_ don't need to worry about that interfering with your career plans, since it wasn't _your_ baby, was it? Couldn't have been!"

"Would you leave me alone?" Shikamaru hissed at her. "What do you want me to do about it?"

"You call her and apologize _right this instant_, or I swear, I'll make sure you _never_ have to worry about fathering _any _children _ever_ again." She cracked her knuckles meaningfully, and Chouji's gulp was so loud, it was audible across the room. "Well?"

"It won't matter if I do apologize. It's not like she can have a kid and be in school at the same time, anyway." He grumbled, digging his phone out of the stack of things on his nightstand. He started typing in the keypad.

"No! You _call her_! Don't you dare text message her a 'oh, sorry I called you a whore,' message. Don't make me go tell Temari." She threatened.

"Oh man, just do it, Temari will cut you." Chouji spoke up from where he was on the floor, and Shikamaru heaved a sigh.

"Fine, fine, but could I have some privacy?" he grumbled, and Sakura glared at him a moment before leaving the room, ushering Chouji along with her.

"I can't believe him." Sakura shook her head in annoyance.

"Eh, he was pretty much ready to apologize anyway, he's just pouting about it because he hates being told what to do." Chouji shrugged. "Is Ino really not coming back?"

"Not if I have anything to say about it." Sakura dug out her phone and called the number that had sent her that message.

Busy.

Good, it seemed Shikamaru could go on living for now.

----------

Ino looked at her phone, saw who was calling and rolled her eyes, sending the call to voicemail.

_A little too late there, thanks though._

She knew that as soon as her dad showed up at the school packing her stuff, she could expect to receive calls from her friends, and from _that man_, but she knew better than to let him speak to her. He could be tricky when he wanted to, and he had a way of making her forget to think things through the way she should.

The phone started ringing again, and after a glance, she looked out the window, waiting for the call to just go to voicemail automatically. He hadn't even left her a voicemail, just calling back. Of course he wouldn't leave her a voicemail, that'd be too troublesome, wouldn't it? Her phone started ringing again almost immediately, and she considered turning it off, but she was expecting Sakura or Tenten to call, and she thought she should talk to them, at least. She'd just have to be patient.

Her phone buzzed, showing she had a text message, and she pushed the button to show it.

_Answer the damn phone_

Cute. Of course, like she'd really want to answer when he was obviously angry. If she wanted to listen to him calling her names and insulting her, she would have gone back to school. Her mother still wanted her to at least look at other schools, but it just seemed…what was the point? She didn't feel like doing anything. She just wanted to curl up in her bed and forget about the world…and even though she felt a bit guilty using the baby as an excuse…she was sure she would get over this malaise eventually, and when she did, she would have the child to care for, and she was sure it wouldn't turn on her the way Shikamaru had.

Part of her was unsure she should keep something that would be a constant reminder…but then again, she did still love him, despite what he thought of her, and she knew she would love the baby, as well. She liked to stare out into space, thinking of what she might name it, what it might look like, wondering if it would have his frown, hair like his, or maybe…

The phone was ringing still. She threw it across the room, and was vaguely disappointed when it landed on the carpet and continued ringing, undamaged.

Why wouldn't he leave her alone? She was leaving him alone, after all, just like he'd wanted, and now…of course he probably wanted to rub her nose in it, to laugh at her.

She reached up to her cheek, touched at the dampness there and scrubbed her tears away in disgust. No more crying, no more tears. She was done with all that, wasn't she? Gathering herself, she strode across the room, picked up the phone, and after glancing down to be sure it was still him, answered.

"Fuck off!" and hung up.

There, she felt much better.

----------

"Well I don't _care_ if she won't answer!" Sakura shook her finger at a very aggravated Shikamaru. "Come on then, let's go. You know where she lives, don't you?"

"Um…sort of?" Shikamaru didn't exactly know her exact address, and he had doubts that he could get it from her in this state.

"Ugh! Worthless." She shoved him back in his room and went back down the hall, patting her hair and making her eyes as wide and innocent as possible. "Mr. Yamanaka, sir?"

"Who? Oh yes." He set down the box that Tenten was watching him pack, probably glad to be away from her, since she was staring at him with the expression of a person at a funeral seeing the dirt being shoveled over a coffin. "Can I help you?"

"Why yes, if you could be so kind." Sakura blinked wide eyes at him. "I was wondering if you could give me Ino's home address, you know, to stay in touch? I tried calling her, but she isn't picking up, and I thought you must know…"

"Certainly," the man looked around and Sakura swiftly gathered up paper and pen for him to give her the information on. "There you go…Sakura, was it?"

"Yes, thank you _so much_, Mr. Yamanaka." She smiled at him as brightly as possible, ignoring the way that Tenten was looking at her as though she might be a pod person and left the room, going back to where Shikamaru was sulking on his own. "Here, then. I have a car, we'll just drive to her house and—"

"I have a car, I'll go alone." He cut her off, and she blinked at him in surprise.

"But you never drive!" Sakura gaped at him. "I didn't know you had a car."

"What, you think I walk Ino to the movies?" he snorted. "Just give me that—"

"Don't you have class in like an hour?" Chouji pointed out.

"I don't care, if I don't handle this, things will get troublesome." Shikamaru snatched the address out of Sakura's hand and pulled his shoes on, grabbing his keys and leaving.

"That was actually pretty poignant, coming from him." Chouji reflected, and Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Honestly, to be friends with him for so long, you must have the patience of a saint, Chouji." She told him, and he shrugged.

"He has his moments."

----------

"She's _what_?!" Temari's face went pale. "Ugh! That man!"

"I know, I know," Sakura had to stop herself laughing when she realized that Temari sounded exactly like Ino. "But I sent him to go apologize, and hopefully, if that doesn't just make things worse, she'll talk to me about it, and we can tell her about your plan."

"I hope so!" Temari scowled. "Stupid Shikamaru. Geez, I can't believe she's letting him affect her so much."

"Well…she _does_ love him, after all." Sakura suppressed a grin, and Temari snorted, annoyed at this logical argument. "And you know, even if for some reason she doesn't come back, you can just _get_ the house."

"I know." Temari scowled. "But I just…well, I thought it sounded fun."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"Well…I just thought it might be nice to have a baby to take care of." Temari flushed slightly, and Sakura couldn't help giggling this time.

"Oh great, you've got baby fever." She teased. "You must have caught it from all that exposure to Ino in the car before."

"Shut up," Temari shook her head sharply. "I just…well, I was so happy when Gaara came to live with us, I always wanted a younger sibling to take care of, but he's just…well, he was a little more independent than your standard grade schooler, and I guess I've always dreamed of getting married and having babies and everything, but I _swear_ if you tell anyone I said that, I'll—"

"Um," Sakura cut her off as they heard Kankurou laughing hysterically and running out of his room and down the hall. "I think I'm the least of your worries."

"Kankurou!" Temari flew off her bed, flung open the door, and ran down the hall. Sakura sighed, pulling out her cell phone and dialing the number again, hoping that this time—

"Hello?" Ino's voice surprised her so much that she didn't know what to say at first, and spent a moment clearing her throat and spluttering. "Sakura, is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me." She confirmed finally. "Sorry, I…just, you haven't been answering, I was surprised."

"Oh yeah, sorry about that." Ino sighed slightly. "That man kept calling, I wasn't about to speak to _him_." Sakura laughed nervously, wondering if it was probably better to just not share his current whereabouts with her.

"Listen, I know that everything's really…well, obviously, you're pregnant, and it could be really hard, but I want you to know, we've been trying to figure things out over here, and I _know_ Temari isn't your favorite person in the world, but she really wants to help out, and she found this house," Sakura explained swiftly. "And she wants to get it, and we could all stay in it and I mean, we're all busy, but with all of us there, we could watch the baby, and you would be there, and you could stay in school, and it would be—"

"Sakura," Ino cut in, her voice soft, her tone sad. "You know that's not the real reason I didn't come back."

"I know." Sakura sighed after a moment's silence. "But…I mean, you can't let your dreams go because of that! And he wouldn't be in the house, and I mean, he's a philosophy major, it's not like you'd _ever_ have a class with him, and it would be pretty easy to avoid him, and if you want, a lot of people are pretty pissed at him, I mean, if one of you has to leave the school, it shouldn't be you. He's the asshole who said all those things."

"Yeah, he is an asshole." Ino responded after a while. "But…I still love him. Is that weird?"

"Well…I mean, Naruto still loves Sasuke." She pointed out, and the other girl started laughing, making Sakura feel a bit better. "No, it's not weird."

"Thanks, but…I really…I just need to be alone now, to try and just…deal with this my own way." Ino told her, and abruptly, the call ended. Sakura frowned at her phone and hit redial, but there was no answer, and it went straight to voicemail. She'd shut her phone off.

_Stubborn Ino…_

_I just hope Shikamaru can get off his lazy ass and change your mind._

----------

To be continued…


	35. Chapter 35

Everything in Between

Chapter 35

----------

Sasuke was seriously starting to suspect that something was wrong between Naruto and him. He sighed softly, rolling over and looking at the young man dozing off rather contentedly, his chest still slick with sweat, his mouth slightly open, and his face utterly relaxed.

_Maybe he just likes it better underneath._

It seemed a little odd, though. Before, they had bantered about whose turn it was to be on top, not really ever fighting about it, but pointing out this person had gone twice in a row, or that person had been last, or their turn had been skipped a week ago or something like that. It just…well, it had seemed like he liked it both ways. And honestly, before Naruto, Sasuke had never considered switching. He was a bottom, normally, and while he had been asked to top others before, he had never done it until Naruto had wheedled him into it. And it had been…well, everything with Naruto was amazing, it always was, but he still loved having Naruto on top, and that was how the switching had started.

After everything with Itachi, he had thought that probably Naruto wouldn't want to bottom anymore, since it probably would remind him of that experience, but after overcoming his initial fear, he had jumped back into the sexual side of their relationship with his normal gusto, and everything had been wonderful.

Until February.

And since then, all Sasuke wanted was to go back to how things had been before. Their relationship had shifted slightly with everything they went through, but it seemed strange…it wasn't like Naruto had any reason to be afraid to be on top…and yet…as silly as it seemed…

"_God, I want you in me," Sasuke had hissed in Naruto's ear as they ground against each other, and he'd felt the blonde shudder against him, growling slightly, pinning him down and kissing him so hard he tasted blood. "Fuck me," he'd pleaded, and Naruto had reached down, but instead of looping Sasuke's legs over his shoulders, he'd swiftly prepped himself and slid onto Sasuke's length, riding him._

It had been amazing, and a lot rougher than he was used to when entering Naruto. He hadn't really prepared himself enough, and it was so excruciatingly tight…he thought he'd lose it on the first thrust. At the same time, he'd worried that he must be hurting Naruto, but with him on top, controlling the action, it was clear that he was feeling no pain, and if he was, the sheer pleasure was overpowering it.

As usual, the sex was mind-blowing, but he couldn't help thinking…it was weird for Naruto to decline that sort of clear cut invitation, with no explanation, nothing…and if it had just been that, Sasuke probably would have assumed that Naruto had just really wanted to bottom, which he could certainly understand. There were times when he wanted to be inside his lover, and times he wanted Naruto in him, and even times when he just wanted to lay together staring into his eyes, and kissing him until his lips were numb with the sensation.

But he had thought about it afterward, as they lie in a panting heap, limbs tangled, pressing kisses on sweaty skin until Naruto rolled off of him, smiled at him sleepily and passed out nearly immediately. He had been tempted to fall asleep too, but it was odd, and he couldn't help thinking over it, worrying it like a loose thread, trying to see how it fit in. When was the last time Naruto had topped him?

February.

He remembered the last time rather easily, since it had been right before their separation, and he'd reflected on it later, while alone, staring across the room at the other bed, while he was with Orochimaru, wondering why something so wonderful and full of love from one person could be such an act of defilement from another. He had probably got some of the details mixed up with other encounters, but he could remember the way Naruto would make something so cold and harsh from one person seem like such an intimate act, to the point where Sasuke really understood that for the first time in his life, he was making love, and being made love to, and he relished that thought. When it had been gone, he had grasped at it like smoke, trying to find it again, but until they had come back together the week of midterms…he had really thought he would never be loved again.

But now they were back together, and they'd talked through all of their issues, so he knew that Naruto didn't think he was sick, and wasn't going to leave him despite all the things he'd done, or had done to him. And Naruto knew that for Sasuke, good sex didn't require a beating, it just required Naruto and him, together. He'd been ecstatic to realize that Naruto still wanted him, and they had started having sex again.

But every time since then, Sasuke had been on top. There had been times before when it happened that one of them would top twice in a row, and even one time when Naruto just had not been able to sate his needs, and had topped Sasuke three times in one day, during what Sasuke felt was probably the model example of a perfect weekend. He remembered afterwards, Naruto apologizing, saying he didn't know what had gotten into him, and hoping that Sasuke wouldn't be too sore.

Sasuke had answered that he didn't mind at all, as long as Naruto knew that now, any time he wanted, he could take three turns in a row because of his turn-skipping. They had laughed and lay in bed a while longer before they had to get up to eat.

Then…Naruto had certainly not had a problem being on top. But now…and it wasn't as though Sasuke would hate it if Naruto told him he just didn't ever want to be on top ever again. He liked being on top, too. And if it bothered Naruto for him to be on bottom, he wouldn't do that anymore. After all, just knowing he could be with Naruto was enough, and even though it had been several times in a row now being on top, it was not really becoming monotonous or anything. It was still amazing, and he might not have noticed it, but the fact that Naruto had just ignored his request.

_I should talk to him about it. That worked last time. And I don't want to risk making him uncomfortable if I don't have to. I don't want him to feel embarrassed when I ask him to do something, because it's something he doesn't like to do._

_But right now…I think I'll just let him sleep._

----------

Shikamaru stared at the seemingly innocent blue house sitting across the street. He'd been in his car for quite some time now, staring at it, wondering if he could just make Ino come out through sheer force of will. That didn't seem likely.

His other options were not very appealing, though. He knew the most obvious route, and could picture quite clearly in his head walking up to the door, knocking, asking to see Ino, explaining that she was carrying his unborn child, and then being shot or chased away by very angry parents. Ino was, after all, an only child. Parents could be a little…protective in that situation, he knew.

He could climb into her window, if he knew which window was hers, but he pictured one of two things happening in that scenario. He would climb in the wrong window and again be chased off the property, or he would find Ino, and she would throw him back out the window.

He had seen a movie once where a guy had stood outside some girl's house and held a boom box blasting cheesy romance music, but he did not have a boom box, did not feel he was lame enough for that, and did not have any cheesy romance music on him as far as he knew.

He could also try the time-honored throwing rocks at the girl's window trick, but even if he didn't break a window, he could also see that ending like the other window scenario. It all seemed pretty pointless, and he'd almost all of a tank of gas to come out here just to stare at her house like a nitwit.

That was when an idea struck him. He left the car, pulled out his phone, texted her, and hoped she would read it. Heaven knew that if he tried calling her she wouldn't even look at her phone. If she did read it, she would look out the window, and then maybe they could move past this stupid waiting-outside-pointlessly situation.

Unfortunately for Shikamaru, she had turned her phone off completely about twenty minutes ago, so she was very unlikely to receive any text messages from anyone. However, fortunately for him, Ino currently spent most of her day staring out the window, and she had just been wondering why that car outside seemed so familiar when she saw him get out of the car, and her mouth dropped open.

It wasn't as though she lived horribly far away from the school…but still. It was a good three and a half hour drive. What was he doing here? Didn't he have class today? She stared at him aghast, and then slid her window open, as if to verify what she was seeing.

"You?!" she squawked, and he waved, reaching into his car and waving what seemed to be a white paper napkin at her like it was a flag of some sort. She rolled her eyes. Could he ever be serious about anything?

"I think your phone is broken," he strolled over so that he didn't have to be so loud calling up to her second story window. "I keep trying to call you and you don't answer. And I think your voicemail told me to fuck myself."

"What do you want?" she asked him, annoyed with him trying to be cute and funny. She hated when he did that, especially when she was angry with him.

"I thought maybe you needed a ride to school." He shrugged as though he only lived a block away and had just dropped by on his way. "Noticed you weren't there."

"I don't want _anything_ from you." She hissed at him angrily. "I think I got quite enough, thanks anyway."

"You sure?" he frowned slightly. "I mean, I wanted to apologize and everything, and I'd rather do it in the car, so I don't look like such an ass, but if you like it better this way, that's okay."

"I don't want your apology. What, did Sakura send you here?" she guessed. "Well you can go, I'll tell her you apologized, but I don't care. I'm not coming back."

"Really?" his frown deepened. "Well…I mean, I'm not going back without you, so do you have a tent or something? I could sleep in the car, I guess. I mean, I know I fucked up, okay? I said some stupid things, and I got…well, I went a little crazy. I guess I'm just an idiot, and when I thought about never seeing you again, about you with someone else…I lost it, and I shouldn't have, because now…now I have to stand down here in your lawn like a dolt yelling out this apology for all your neighbors and your parents to hear just so I won't really lose you. But it's probably a little late for that, right? Chouji said I should have apologized before you left. He's always right, stupid Chouji."

"That's a pretty half-assed apology." She frowned at him, and he rolled his eyes at her.

"Well I don't have a damn boom box with something cheesy to play for you, it's the best I can do!" he told her. "Okay, let's make sure everyone knows. I totally fucked up! You're right and I'm wrong, and I'm down here on her _wet lawn_, ruining my pants," he went down on his knees then, throwing up his arms in a wide gesture, "telling you I love you, and I'm sorry! And I know it's mine, and I trust you, and I want to help you, because it's _ours_, and we should decide together! Am I supposed to recite poetry or something? Cause I know part of the Iliad, but it's not very romantic, I'm gonna warn you."

"Stop it!" Ino buried her face in her hands. "Just…just go away, okay?"

"Okay, fine then." Shikamaru stood up, and she turned away for a moment before she heard a weird scraping and looked outside to see, to her horror, that he was trying to climb up the drainpipe.

"What are you _doing_?" she asked in horror.

"Probably breaking my leg, pretty soon here." He grunted, hefting himself up higher, and despite herself, she gasped in horror as he swung out a hand to reach her window ledge. "Oh man…this is not easy."

"Idiot!" she helped him inside, annoyed, but not wanting him to get injured. "What were you thinking?" she scolded him as he brushed at the mud and grass stains on his knees.

"Well, nothing else was working." He shrugged. "I told you I'm not leaving without you."

"Oh please." She rolled her eyes. "You'll get behind in your classes."

"Yep." He nodded shortly. "Already missed a lecture coming out here. I'm well on my way to straight D's."

"I'm not going back." She insisted. "I'm not."

"I know." He stretched out and stepped toward her, she stepped away from him warily. "You seem pretty set on it."

"So…you should go." She clarified. "I could scream, you know, and my mom would come in here looking for me, and she'd throw you out and call the cops, so you better just—"

"Ino," he stepped forward again, and she was against the wall, and she couldn't get away, and he was looking at her in a way that she knew would be trouble for her if she didn't get away soon. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean what I said, I was scared and freaked out, and I did something…horrible, and I'm sorry." She wanted to speak, she wanted to move, but she couldn't, and when he leaned forward to kiss her, she felt herself returning the kiss, her eyes fluttering closed, and when he pulled away, he brushed at the tears in her eyes. "Let's just refer to that as my nervous breakdown from now on. I don't want to think that I said any of those things."

"Shikamaru…" she sniffled, and he hugged her, and kissed her forehead, looking down at her with a look that let her know that he had really thought he'd lost her, and somehow…just seeing that look, knowing he'd been afraid…that made her anger dissolve. "I should have told you sooner, I'm sorry."

"I know why you didn't, it's okay." He told her. "It's a lot to think about, though." He looked down at her stomach, still seeming rather flat to him. "You wanna keep it, then?"

"It's not like a kitten, it's going to take a lot of work." She told him, sniffing once more, and he smiled.

"We'll figure it out." He told her.

"Let's never fight again." She spoke into his chest, burrowing her head there, and he chuckled.

"Sure thing."

----------

"Hey," Naruto looked up as he finished brushing his teeth to see Gaara entering the bathroom, looking sleep-mussed and like he had probably just had sex.

"Hey," Gaara greeted him, stretching and smiling sleepily, getting his own toothbrush and toothpaste and standing at the sink next to Naruto.

"Did you have a good break?" he asked, feeling the need to talk to Gaara, wanting to ask his advice, but not sure how to go about it. "Sasuke and I went to the beach."

"We stayed in bed." Gaara told him. "Temari was annoyed." He began brushing while Naruto chuckled and blushed.

"Eheh, that's what Sasuke wanted to do, but I'd never really had a trip to the ocean before so he…" he trailed off, leaning against the wall on the other side of Gaara. "Gaara, can I ask you something personal about Neji and you?"

"Mmph." Gaara shrugged, blinking at him expectantly, and Naruto licked his lips, starting out.

"Do you…do you ever think that maybe…that there's things that you want to do with Neji, or things he wants to do with you, but that…that you don't really think you can…" Naruto coughed and pressed on. "I just mean, what if you wanted to do it, but I mean…Neji's had a lot of sex, right? So he probably knows really well how all that stuff works, and you haven't really…I mean, have you?"

"I've had a lot with him." Gaara answered after spitting, going back to scrubbing, looking merely interested in Naruto's train of thought. "Not really a lot before that, though."

"Yeah, so like…so like, I mean, I'm sure, when you started out, you were thinking he already knew way more about it, and you were probably worried you wouldn't do things the way he wanted." Naruto babbled. "So then, so what if you found out that…I mean, like this whole time, he's seemed happy, but you find out that he wants to do it a certain way, and you're really not sure you can do that…do you think it would be better just to do it the way you have been, or should you just cut that part out, or what?"

"You mean stop having sex?" Gaara looked at Naruto like he'd lost his mind. "Why would you do that?"

"No, no, I don't mean that." Naruto heaved a sigh and rolled his eyes. "Look, can I be honest with you?"

"Yes?" Gaara was confused by this question. Were there times when Naruto had been dishonest with him?

"Okay, it's about Sasuke." He explained, flushing deeply, and Gaara's lips pursed slightly. Naruto knew that even though the story Kankurou had told him had been made up, Gaara still did not especially like Sasuke, and he knew why. He still found it hard to be really comfortable around Neji, himself. "So…so, I mean, we used to switch all the time, you know…like sometimes he'd be on top, and sometimes I'd—"

"I know what it means." Gaara wiped his mouth and rinsed off his toothbrush. "Neji said Sasuke was a bottom, though."

"Well, I mean, before me, yeah." Naruto flushed, a bit put off by the thought of Neji discussing his sexual encounters with Sasuke openly with Gaara. "And at first, it was like that with me, he was used to it so…but I said he should try, and he did, and since then, we'd switch a lot, because he liked it both ways and so did I…I mean, I thought that."

"Does he want to be bottom all the time again?" Gaara guessed, and Naruto blanched.

"No! I mean, okay, well…I mean, did you hear about what happened?" Naruto felt embarrassed, but then again, Gaara was not a gossip, it wasn't like he was going to go discuss the sexual minutiae of Sasuke and Naruto with all the rest of their friends. "I mean, with the professor?"

"A bit." Gaara shrugged. "Does he want a threesome?"

"No!" Naruto flushed deeper than before. "I just mean, okay, well, I saw them together, and he was…I mean, he really liked it, no matter what he says now, I could see that, and he kept going back to him, and he had all these bruises and things and I started to realize that was the kind of sex that Sasuke was used to, right? Like…like really rough sex. Like…like with hitting and stuff and just, just tossing him over a table and just…just…"

"Shoving it in?" Gaara suggested, and Naruto nodded swiftly.

"And I mean…I mean, it's fine if he wants it like…a little rough sometimes." Naruto went on. "But I mean…I can't hit him. I just can't. And I mean…even if I knew he liked it, I can't just…just…"

"Ram it in and pound him?" Gaara supplied, and Naruto nodded again.

"So…I mean, it's always been like that, when I'm on top, he's always tried to get me to go faster, be rougher, and all that, but usually when I'm on bottom, he takes his time more, and sometimes he's like…like a little rough, like, he's just in a big rush to do it, or whatever, and that's still really good." Naruto explained. "But now…now it's like, I know he wants me to switch still, but now that I know the way he likes it…I mean, I can't do that! And then, if I can't do it how he likes…I mean, won't he get sick of me? Won't he just…"

"Leave you?" Gaara guessed, and Naruto nodded miserably. "Not if he doesn't want to die."

"Gaara, come on, I'm asking advice here." Naruto sighed heavily, and the redhead shrugged.

"Fine," he walked over and put back his toothbrush and toothpaste. "Then do you want to be on top?"

"Well, not _all_ the time, but yeah, I mean, sometimes I really…I mean, have you ever?" Naruto asked, and Gaara nodded.

"Neji and I switch." He explained, and Naruto was surprised. From what he understood, Neji had been a rather forceful top, but he supposed he couldn't really know what he'd be like with someone he was serious about. "Both ways are good, so I see what you mean."

"Right!" Naruto felt relieved. "But like, what if Neji only wanted you to be on top if you were going to be rough with him, and you just…just…"

"How rough?" Gaara considered thoughtfully. "What do I have to do?"

"I don't know!" Naruto threw up his hands. "Like, like he wants you to throw him down, tie him up and just go at it! Or like, he wants you like, just walking down the hall, and you shove him against the wall and just do it right there, or like, shove him into a classroom, bend him over a desk and just—"

"That…that all sounds pretty good to me." Gaara licked his lips, his eyes going glassy. "Why don't you want to do that, again?"

"Come on, be serious!" Naruto heaved a sigh. "Like he wants you to really _hit_ him."

"Well…okay, I don't really want to hit Neji." Gaara frowned. "I see what you're saying, but why don't you just compromise? Everything else sounds pretty good, so I don't see why you wouldn't want to."

"You think I should just…just…without even letting him get ready?" Naruto's voice cracked, and Gaara rolled his eyes.

"You and Neji, you need to learn, it's not such a big deal." Gaara grumbled. "It doesn't hurt if you're used to it, as long as you're expecting it, it doesn't take so long to be ready as you think. If you hurt him, he'd just say stop, wouldn't he? And if it feels good to Sasuke, and it feels good to you, what's wrong with it?"

"I…well, I mean…do you really think I should?" Naruto frowned at the redhead and he shrugged.

"Just try it. If he wants you to hit him so bad, why don't you just tell him you don't want to?" Gaara asked.

"Well…I mean, I did tell him." Naruto explained, blushing. "And he said he didn't care, he said it wasn't like he _needed_ it, but that he did like it rough and everything, and I mean…of course you don't _need_ sex! But I want to do it the way he likes, and I'm just afraid he won't be happy with it, and he'll just leave me…"

"If he leaves you, I can kill him." Gaara explained helpfully. "And I can ask Neji how he feels about a threesome to make you feel better. That classroom one sounded pretty good." Naruto felt his face catch fire, and then Gaara gave him an enigmatic smile and left, the blonde wondering whether that last bit had been a joke or not.

"_God, I want you in me."_

He shuddered, remembering Sasuke's words earlier that evening. His lover was sleeping now, and he had seemed happy enough when Naruto had ignored his request and bottomed instead. But still…the thought of being in Sasuke…it had been so long, and maybe he was just suffering from extreme sexual repression, but somehow, the idea of throwing Sasuke down and fucking him hard was starting to seem very tempting. And if that's what he really wanted…was there any real reason for him to ignore his own desires?

And anyway, Sasuke had said that he just wanted to be with Naruto, and that it felt good to him no matter how rough, or how gently, since they were in love. Shouldn't he trust in that? Shouldn't he just do what felt right? And again, maybe it was the frustration taking over, but everything Gaara said had made a lot of sense, as well.

_Well, we had sex already not that long ago, and he's asleep now. No point worrying about it tonight._

Blinking at his reflection in the mirror, he tried for a moment to see what it was that Sasuke liked, what it was that was able to hold the gorgeous man at his side despite the fact that he could be with anyone he wanted, and probably had to know that. There was no point searching for the answer there. The only time he thought it made any sense to him was when he looked into Sasuke's eyes.

He smiled to himself softly and took a deep breath, feeling much happier, much more at peace than he had a while ago. No matter what, after everything they'd been through, Sasuke and him managed to stay together. He should just believe in that.

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To be continued…


	36. Chapter 36

Everything in Between

Chapter 36

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"Ino!" Temari was clasping her cell phone in one hand and running down the hall excitedly. "Okay, okay!" she ran into the room, since the door was wide open anyway, and saw Tenten look at her like she'd lost her mind as she ran to the other blonde and squeezed her phone excitedly. "Okay, so I just got back the inspection report, and everything looks good, so I called in an offer!"

"Oh man…really?" Ino couldn't help thinking that any minute now, Temari would yell "psyche!" and point at her, laughing, as it was revealed that this whole house plan was just an elaborate trick. But she really couldn't see why Sakura would trick her as well, and she was starting to actually believe that maybe Temari really wanted to do this. "Oh man…should we tell Shikamaru!"

"Oh! Yeah, let's tell him!" she shook her cell phone excitedly as they ran down the hall, Tenten still blinking after them in confusion. At this point, they were trying to keep the plan under wraps, partially because there weren't enough room for all of their friends in the house, and partially because it wasn't definite yet, but Temari had wanted to tell Ino, and since they seemed to be back together, she had of course consented to tell Shikamaru as well. He seemed much less excited about this than the girls, but Ino felt he was just trying to be aware of the possibility of the plan falling through. "And Sakura, we should tell Sakura. Oh man, if this goes through…we'll have to decide who to have stay with us. I mean, I was making out a list of people who might be interested, and it was fifteen people, and it's like, even with couples sharing rooms, that's just not going to work out."

"Oh, well you can cross Lee off the list, if you had him on there." Ino hissed as they reached Shikamaru's room, saw that Chouji, Kiba, and Hinata were present as well, and gestured frantically at Shikamaru to come out in the hall. "Tenten was just telling me, apparently over spring break, he enlisted, and he's shipping out next week."

"What?" Temari pulled a face. "Doesn't he even want to finish school first?"

"Apparently he told Shino something about realizing his destiny in a vision while he was meditating…something." Ino shook her head in confusion as Shikamaru joined them, looking a bit annoyed at the interruption to his studying, but obviously not about to say anything, as Ino and him had only made up recently, and he didn't really want to push his luck. "I don't know, but I'm kinda sad, you know? Like…he's a little weird, sure, but he's always so optimistic and full of energy, he'd probably be really good with kids."

"Yeah, he'd probably clean the whole house all the time as like…exercise or something, too." Temari sighed. "Well…too bad, I guess."

"Are you still on about that house?" Shikamaru asked, and Ino clapped her hands excitedly.

"Yep! Temari called in an offer!" she giggled.

"Did you low-ball them?" Shikamaru asked the other girl, and she scowled at him.

"I offered a _fair price_." She insisted. "I'm sure they'll be more than happy—" her phone rang and she listened a moment. "Yes? Okay, then make a counter offer." Another pause, and Shikamaru couldn't help chuckling at how serious she looked. "Go up two hundred, meet them halfway." She listened a while longer. "I'm not an idiot. That place needs some refurbishment, they can't try to blindside me with…okay, two-fifty, but that's it. Okay, I'm counting on you. Don't disappoint me. I expect a call in five minutes to say you've closed or I'll—yes I know that!" Temari hung up, rolling her eyes. "Impossible. Honestly, I'd be my own realtor if I had a license, these people."

"You sound so high-powered over there," Ino giggled, feeling rather giddy. "I expect you to run off to a board meeting or something, or like, call your broker and go over your portfolio."

"Oh, crap, I need to do that." She frowned. "I haven't checked in with him for ages."

"You have stocks?" Ino was still giggling.

"Well, if you have that much money, it's idiotic to let it just stagnate. I have to keep on top of things, or between lawyers for Gaara and things Kankurou drives off cliffs, we'd be in the poorhouse in no time." Her phone rang again and she turned away. Ino jumped up and down, giggling, and ran down the hall to tell Sakura. Shikamaru couldn't help smiling after her, and while he was wary of the idea of living in the same house, sharing a bedroom like they were married, having a baby…well, it was happening, and she was so happy, which was really an excellent change from the last several weeks before spring break. He couldn't really argue with that, could he?

He should really be grateful to Temari for coming up with such an excellent solution to their problems, but he felt like he could see that there would be a whole new batch of troubles caused _by_ this solution. He would like to believe that everyone, Ino and him included, had been through enough trouble this year that they would simply live harmoniously together without any fights or disagreements, and definitely without any drama, but even though he loved her, he had serious doubts that Ino could go a whole year without squabbling with anyone. That wasn't even to mention some of their friends, who seemed to be addicted to drama. If Naruto and Sasuke were in the house…

"Yes!" Temari hung up her phone and did a little victory dance, and immediately, the two girls chattering excitedly a little bit down the hall ran over to join her. "We got it!" she high-fived Sakura and Ino, and Ino leapt at Shikamaru, kissing him so thoroughly he forgot very promptly to worry about the wisdom of having a house full of college students raise a child. After all…if Ino was happy, that was all that really mattered, wasn't it?

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_I'll be in the photo lab_.

Sasuke shifted the hot cup in his hand and frowned. Naruto had asked for Sasuke to bring him coffee, saying that he was exhausted, and not nearly finished with his work. He had spent a long time out of the house recently, saying he had a lot of pictures to develop, and some project to work on.

"_But I want to see you, it feels like we've barely seen each other lately." Naruto had been on his way out the door when Sasuke woke that morning, and had planted a quick kiss on Sasuke's cheek before rushing out. "Bring me coffee when you get out of class, we'll hang out. I'll be in the photo lab."_

It was all very well knowing he was in one of these dark rooms, but how was he supposed to know which one? They didn't have windows or anything, he couldn't just peer inside, and he didn't want to open the doors, ruining Naruto's exposures, or just pissing off some other unfortunate photography student. He realized his options were to either knock on all the doors, or to ask someone. Both seemed annoying, since they involved contact with other people, which was something he generally avoided if at all possible. He stood there, looking at the doors, willing Naruto to appear, and feeling apprehensive and foolish.

Because of all the time he'd been spending away from the house, Sasuke hadn't had a chance to speak to Naruto at all. Well, that wasn't strictly true. He'd had sex with him, so clearly it wasn't like they hadn't seen each other at all, but as soon as things were finished and Sasuke would be ready to talk to him, Naruto would pass out. It gave him a weird feeling that Naruto was avoiding him, but that seemed stupid to think, since obviously they were sleeping together, living together. It was just that he was busy.

"Hey, are you meeting someone?" a young woman asked him, blushing slightly, and Sasuke was jarred out of his thoughts, annoyed at the obviously smitten look in her eyes. Could he have no peace?

"Yes." He answered shortly before realizing this might be a good chance to solve his problem. "Do you know Uzumaki Naruto?"

"Yeah, of course!" she smiled brightly, the way Naruto always made people smile. It was amazing he couldn't see what it meant to be with him, how lucky Sasuke was, but there was no reason to question his good fortune, really. He'd probably only end up messing things up. "I think he's developing pictures…should be in Dark Room E, that's his favorite one." She beamed at him and opened the door to a dark room, disappearing herself and leaving Sasuke looking at the room she had directed him to.

Maybe now he'd finally get a chance to talk to Naruto. After all, if he was drinking coffee and taking a break from his project, it only made sense that they would talk. He just wanted Naruto to feel comfortable, to be able to do anything he felt like with Sasuke, and not be afraid he was being compared to other people, not be afraid that he wasn't good enough. Sasuke knew it was his fault things had gotten to this point, and it was his responsibility to fix it.

"Naruto?" he knocked on the door.

"Come in," the voice was solemn, but still recognizable, and Sasuke opened the door slightly, afraid of damaging something, but when he stepped inside, he frowned as he saw pictures hanging from lines, containers of the fluid used to develop photographs…but no Naruto. Was he out of his mind, he thought he'd heard Naruto's voice.

_Click_

Sasuke turned swiftly at the sound of a door being locked, and he dropped the coffee, feeling foolish, he didn't even feel the burn of the hot fluid on his hand as he saw Naruto standing behind him, looking at the ground seriously, as though considering the problem of the coffee.

"You spilled it." He frowned, and Sasuke caught his breath, relieved to see his lover there after all.

"Sorry, you scared me, I didn't—" he cut himself off as Naruto moved in on him swiftly, pushing him up against the table, and he couldn't help himself flushing. Being this close to Naruto, having him act so aggressive…it was intoxicating.

"Let me see," Naruto pulled the burned hand up to his eye level, considering it for a moment before sucking on Sasuke's fingers so suddenly that the other man felt himself become hard almost at once. "Does it hurt?"

"N…no." Sasuke wasn't sure what was going on, but he liked it. Naruto looked like he was going to devour him, and his heart was beating a mile a minute.

"Clean it up." Naruto nodded to the ground. "There's some paper towels over there." He jabbed his thumb over his shoulder, and Sasuke would have just stayed where he was, pressed between Naruto and the table, but the blonde stepped back, and Sasuke, too surprised to question anything, nodded and stepped past him, reaching for the roll of paper towels, only to be shoved against the wall roughly. "You're hard, aren't you?"

"I…I…" Sasuke had no idea what to say to the voice in his ear, but he was hard, he was painfully hard, and he could feel fluids leaking from his length, he was so aroused. He wasn't sure if Naruto was angry at him, or what was going on, but it was incredibly hot.

"I asked you a question," Naruto's hands went around his waist then, one popping the button of his fly, the other wrapping around to grab the obvious proof of his arousal through his jeans. "Do you want me?" he breathed, his breath puffing against Sasuke's ear, and then he felt Naruto kissing his neck, and he felt like he was on fire. Now that the initial shock was wearing off, he regained some of his confidence.

"Yes," his hands were against the wall, where he had reached out to stop himself from running into it too forcefully, and he pressed back, rolling his hips, grinding his ass against Naruto, and feeling his arousal even through all the cloth separating them. "Please…I want you."

"Right now?" Naruto asked as he lowered Sasuke's pants marginally, his tone husky, but there was a hint of concern there, and even with what was happening, it was so like Naruto to worry about moving too fast or hurting him, Sasuke couldn't help smiling, couldn't help feeling a warmth deep inside of him that only intensified the heat of lust that was overwhelming him at the moment.

"Fuck me," Sasuke hissed, wriggling to help Naruto reveal his ass, his erection pulling free from the denim prison, was almost immediately encircled by Naruto's hand, hot and familiar and firm, squeezing him so that he couldn't help crying out before speaking again. "Right now, I'm ready, just—"

He hadn't even realized that Naruto had opened his own pants already, and when he felt the shaft, hastily slicked with spit, slide into him, he felt his knees give way, and he scrabbled on the wall for purchase with his hands, crying out and arching his back. Naruto was still working his length, and now he braced himself with his other hand against the wall, lacing his fingers through Sasuke's own, as he felt wave after wave of pleasure threaten to wash him over the edge.

_He hasn't even moved…he just put it in, and I almost came, just from that._

"You're so…so tight." Naruto's voice was strained, and his hands squeezed closed slightly. Sasuke could tell he was hesitating, was afraid of hurting him, even now, after they had reached this point. He had never entered without preparation before, and he could imagine the difference was enough to push him to the very edge of his control.

"I need you…please…fuck me." Sasuke would have been ashamed at the pleading tone of his voice, the way it shook as though he was close to tears, if it had been anyone but Naruto, but feeling that mouth against his neck, being surrounded in him, there was nothing to hide, nothing to be ashamed of. "Please…"

"Shit…" Naruto's own voice cracked, and he pulled back, slowly, excruciatingly slowly, and Sasuke spoke again.

"Make me scream." The words seemed to unleash something in Naruto, something he had managed to always control before, and he let out a strangled noise before he slammed back into Sasuke, and pulled back, again and again, fast, hard, and wild. It took everything Sasuke had to brace himself from having his body crushed against the wall, and then it took even more to concentrate on not collapsing in a boneless heap from the pleasure, the feeling of his prostate being nailed over and over again, the sounds of Naruto grunting and moaning and hissing his name as he slammed back in over and over. It was too much, he felt like he was being completely dissembled and remade again, and that was when his orgasm hit, and he did scream, because it was all too much, and he felt Naruto coming, heard him calling out, and they both fell against the wall, somehow not slipping down to the ground as Naruto panted, kissing Sasuke's neck, kissing every bit of skin that peeked out above his collar, their fingers still intertwined, and his other hand still holding Sasuke's softening length.

"Jesus…that was…that was…" Sasuke finally remembered how to speak again, but it was difficult. "What got into you? You were…like…"

"Was…was it okay?" Naruto was still struggling with speech himself, and he wondered if you were allowed to lay down and cuddle after doing something like that.

"Naruto," Sasuke stumbled slightly as he turned, feeling Naruto fall out of him, and not sure if he could even pull his pants back up. It seemed like so much effort now. "That was the best…best sex ever. I'd get hard just…thinking about it."

"You aren't." Naruto pointed out, using his now empty hands to wrap around Sasuke, to embrace him, and squeeze him tight, "not now."

"Gimme a minute, man." Sasuke sighed, and they both chuckled, their faces close, kissing long and slow, just savoring the feeling, the taste of each other. "What made you…you've never been so…"

"I thought you wanted it…rougher." Naruto flushed, as though he was somehow able to get embarrassed now, like he hadn't just slammed Sasuke against the wall of the dark room and fucked him so thoroughly Sasuke was very sure that if he attempted to walk, he would just collapse. "I mean…I can't hit you, I just can't, but I thought it would be okay if I just…just maybe sometimes…"

"Naruto, you don't need to hit me, I told you." Sasuke's hands held Naruto's face between them, one thumb moving over his cheek. "I told you already, I like how you treat me, I don't want you to hit me. But yeah…that was amazing…if you want to do that…like that more, that'd be…"

"I didn't hurt you, did I?" Naruto couldn't hold back any longer, and Sasuke laughed. "Only I didn't…and I thought maybe if I just…I thought that's what you wanted."

"It didn't hurt." Sasuke assured him. "Is this why you haven't been topping lately? You were worried if you didn't do _that_ I wouldn't be satisfied?"

"Well…I mean, you said you like rough sex." Naruto pointed out, a petulant frown on his face, and it was hard to believe this was the same man that had taken him so forcefully only minutes earlier.

"Yeah, but I also like it slow, and drawn out, and even just kind of normal, I like all of those." Sasuke assured him. "Everything you do drives me crazy, can't you tell? I always want you, and whenever we're together, every time is great. Did you…how did you like it?"

"I was worried I was going to hurt you, but it was…you were so hot." Naruto shuddered, his eyes flickering closed as though he was reliving the memory. "It felt like…I couldn't get enough."

"See, it can be good any way." Sasuke kissed him softly. "Slow lasts longer though, right?"

"Yeah…but now I know that I could do it fast if I needed to." Naruto smiled brightly. "Like, I have to go to class! But first a quickie!"

"You know, I'm pretty sure everyone heard us." Sasuke told him, and Naruto blushed deeply. He clearly had not considered this.

"Well…oh well." Naruto shrugged. "Everyone we live with hears it all the time, too…so I don't care."

"I love you." Sasuke kissed him. "But next time you're worried about something, just tell me. Everything always works out when we talk about it, if you haven't noticed."

"Yeah…but that way was more fun." Naruto pointed out.

Sasuke had to agree.

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"So we were wondering if you would want to move in with us." Temari finished, beaming at Naruto. She considered the other man in the room, sitting on his bed and reading a book as though he could somehow avoid being drawn into this if he was just quiet enough. "If you want, Sasuke can share a room with you, but if you guys break up again, he has to move out."

"Sorry, Sasuke, I think Naruto's a little more…" Ino paused, trying to term it delicately.

"Nurturing?" Sakura suggested, and Ino nodded.

"Well?" Temari prompted, and Naruto just shook his head, his mouth agape.

"Ino…you're pregnant!?" Temari wondered if he'd heard anything past that bit. "Oh man, why doesn't anyone ever _tell_ me anything?"

"Well, it's kinda hard to get you out from under Sasuke long enough." Ino examined her nails idly as she explained Naruto's lack of gossip knowledge.

"Seriously, I thought we'd have to book an appointment." Temari rolled her eyes.

"We could have pulled him out of class." Sakura suggested, and Ino shook her head.

"That'd be a no-go, too, I have this friend, told me they were doing it in the dark rooms the other day." Ino pointed out, and while Sasuke managed to look completely unaffected by this news, Naruto flushed scarlet.

"Guys! Geez, that's private." Naruto stammered, clearly a bit embarrassed, and he shifted to what he felt was a far better topic of conversation. "Ino, how far are you?"

"Not very," she pinked happily, looking like she also felt this was a far more interesting topic. "Just ten weeks. I'm supposed to do an ultrasound tomorrow, though."

"Man, and your parents, they're okay with all this?" he was very excited, and Ino momentarily considered how much easier this would have been if Naruto was the father, since he was clearly _very_ enthusiastic. _Yeah, probably would love to change the diapers if I could get him out of Uncle Sasuke's bed._ She almost started laughing at that, and covered it up with a cough.

"Well, they were surprised, yeah, but I explained everything, and they seem excited. My mom wanted a bunch of babies, but she had endometriosis so she was lucky to have just me, and I think she's just excited that I don't seem to have the same problem." Ino shrugged. "My father…he pretty much goes along with whatever my mom decides, so yeah, I think my only concern is that my mom will try to like, steal the baby."

"What's…endo…whatzit?" Naruto made a face, and Sakura giggled before taking pity on him.

"It's a disease where your uterus starts like, overgrowing and stuff, and usually they have to remove it." She explained. "And it can be genetic, so yeah, in a weird way, Ino's lucky."

"I mean, I wouldn't have minded being lucky like six years later…but hey, now's cool too, I guess." Ino rolled her eyes.

"So do you want to come stay in the house with us and take care of the baby?" Temari asked. "It'll be so cute!"

"Oh man, Ino, if it's a boy, okay," Sakura held her hair over her head in the lazy, messy ponytail Shikamaru often wore. "Like this! Put his hair up, and then…just imagine Shikamaru holding him like that!"

"That would be kind of cute." Ino admitted. Now that everyone seemed so excited, suddenly being pregnant seemed a lot better to her, and she had started to take on what Temari characterized as her "glow." Shikamaru had even pointed out the other day that she seemed so much happier lately. It had been scary at first…but now it seemed really exciting, too.

"What about Shikamaru, is he excited?" Naruto wanted to know. "I mean, he must have been a little…surprised, right?"

"Huh, talk about an understatement." Temari shook her head. "He totally flipped out."

"He would prefer we refer to that as his nervous breakdown." Ino told them, and the girls all giggled, mostly happy that time was in the past, even though it had not been that long ago. "But yeah, you know Shikamaru. It's not like he's prancing around handing out cigars, but he seems…really dedicated." Her voice wobbled a bit, and Sakura smiled, patting her back.

"Aw, it's so good to see you guys so happy again." She cooed, and Sasuke let a snort of disgust escape him, which they ignored rather well.

"Wow…well, I mean, that sounds awesome, but I mean, I have to talk to Sasuke, see what he wants to do, because I can't just force him to be in Baby House." Naruto explained.

"Can we not call it Baby House?" Ino asked. "It makes me feel like I'm going to be on a reality show with like ten other pregnant girls."

"Sasuke, hey, do you…do you want to go live in the house with everyone next year?" Naruto climbed up on the bed, and made a face of such pitiful pleading that Sasuke knew how this was going to end as soon as he met his eyes. "It'd be really funny, and you'd be with all your friends, and you could help me take care of the baby."

"Baby handling requires clothes on, by the way." Temari pointed out.

"Ooh, unless I'm having baths with it." Ino noted.

"Okay, for everyone that's not Ino, baby handling requires clothes." Temari amended.

Sasuke sighed heavily. He could see where this was heading, and he was not sure he liked it, but at the same time…Naruto looked so excited.

"Well…I thought maybe next year…we could get our own apartment." He attempted, and the pout Naruto was aiming at him intensified. He felt his resistance buckle. "But…if you want. That's fine."

"Yay!" Naruto hugged him so hard he dropped his book, losing his place, and choking a little, but it was okay, because Naruto was clearly ecstatic. "This is gonna rule! I'm so excited! Who else is gonna stay in the house?"

"Well, so far, a lot of people want to stay there." Temari shrugged. "I didn't think there'd be room for everyone, but Kankurou's going to help make the basement nice, and then Chouji and him are gonna stay down there. So Gaara's got a room, which means Neji will be there, and I'll be there, obviously, and Ino and Shikamaru, and Sakura and Sai, and Kiba and Hinata, and I told Shino and Tenten they could stay, but they're only allowed to bring three pets, and Ino has to approve them."

"Whoa, that's awesome!" Naruto was clapping happily, but Sasuke was hoping this was a very large house. He was not sure he wanted to live in close quarters with that many people, and he was already starting to worry about having given in to Naruto so easily.

But then…he looked so happy.

It would be okay, he was sure.

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The End!

This story will be continued shortly in the sequel, Cause and Effect, which I will start working on posthaste. Although…jade already knows this and I think she and I are the only ones reading this…so yeah.


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